


Betray and Forgive

by MinaB



Series: Life & Death [2]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Domestic, Drama & Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Family Drama, Family Issues, Fights, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Male-Female Friendship, Minor Datherine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-04
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-04-12 23:01:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 20
Words: 58,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4498011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MinaB/pseuds/MinaB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once Mark Trotter died, Damon thought his biggest trouble from now on you be adjusting to being human and to dating a witch. Bonnie thought she'd finally find some peace. But when Stefan returns with an unconscious Elena in his arms, Bonnie and Damon are back to where they started. Thankfully now they have good friends to help, even if Stefan is a pushy bastard and Elena can't understand why Caroline is mad at her. Amsterdam is about to become a battleground and Esther better be ready. Bamon. Stelena. Klaroline. Currently on hiatus, but new chapters may be put up sporadically.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Frozen, the ground shook beneath his feet, his shoes discarded on the side, as the fires rose above him, dancing in the midnight sky, like living souls of those long departed. He looked to his right, at the priestess chanting in a language long forgotten by the world, but cherished and preserved by _them_ , for they were the ones, they were the Power and the Wrath and the Redemption of this Earth. He swayed as the force of the Magick washed over him and then, then his mouth opened anew and he _screamed._ The sound raw and broken, the pitch high and the duration _… oh, it lasted for hours this scream of his!_ The ground trembled still, but the air grew warm, heated until it was a scorching fire licking at his flesh and burning, _burning_  him to ash. He was no longer frozen, he was _aflame._

* * *

 

Blue eyes traced the figure standing in the doorway, his hands tightening into fists at his side and his jaw clenching painfully shut. He must have been smiling for the sudden appearance of a scowl, so abrupt his mouth dropped, could not be explained otherwise. _Why now?_ He wondered, but the answer was not his to give, it could not be. He was left as uncertain as a child without its mother, grasping for something, _anything_ , to steady him to his feet. He swallowed hard at the woman in the man’s arms, her breathing irregular, but not as alarming as he would have expected. Frankly it seemed as if she was merely having a nightmare that she could not awaken from. He wanted to shake her to rouse her from her slumber and that urge made his blood boil in his veins and his nails to dig deeper into his skin, drawing more as the red liquid. He stupidly asked himself if the blood would burn his hands from how hot it felt coursing through him. He eyes were no longer blue, they were _red_.

* * *

 

Courage was what made her who she was, from the stubborn set of her mouth, to the stiffness of her back to the fire in her eyes. She was the brave one, to a fault he would say, and maybe that was true. She had a bit of a streak of bad luck it seemed, considering her last attempts at being courageous had nearly killed her. The first, her wish to help her best friend, _her sister_ almost, had gotten her comatose for months. The second, well, that had been less likely to end in such happy terms and so she was lucky that the bullet _he’d_ sent had reached its target before _it_ could slice her in two. Now, standing before the door of her best friend’s house, looking outside, she was shaken. What she felt was no longer courage, but the ice claws of _fear._

* * *

Desperate and worried, he drove. His green eyes never leaving the road as he feared what he might do should they stray and reach _her_ form. She was next to him in the car, her head reclined on the seat, her hands in her lap for he put them there, her eyes closed, her breathing ragged. He trembled, the window was open. _How did I not realize that?_ But the cold didn’t bother him as much as it usually did for the cold didn’t remind him of his mother’s death anymore instead it reminded him of _their_ happiness. And it made his mind go back to her eyes, wide and wondrous, staring at his with so _much_ love it threatened to swallow him whole. It brought back the warmth of her body against his own, the taste of her skin beneath his lips and the sound of her cries as he brought her closer to that ever delightful high. His eyes saw the welcome sign of his home town and suddenly his heart burst anew. He was no longer desperate, but _hopeful_.

* * *

 

It hurt, her body, her mind. They all ached inside and outside and all around as if she was drenched in acid and she could not rise from it. She wanted to scream, but all she could do was as _he_ commanded. He owned her after all, he, a mere _human_ , thought he could control her. Maybe she should have listened to her mother, maybe her pride would be her downfall still and maybe she was wrong. But now, more than that, she had her vengeance in her sight and if she had to ally herself with a _human_ then so be it. As the words expelled themselves from her lips, she felt his thoughts. She heard them as one would a song. He was getting ahead of himself; he was beginning to think he was one of _them_. Oh, how wrong he was, how very wrong. As he screamed in her pain, she laughed. No longer did her body hurt, no, itsang with _relief_.

* * *

 

He yelled, the pain waning yet not truly gone, subsiding to a dull ache throughout his exhausted body. His phone rings, the sound piercing to his pounding head and when he answers, he is rewarded for his pain. The woman speaks clearly, slowly and without a shadow of doubt in her soft voice. He almost smiles, or rather, he would have had he not seen the glare on the priestess’s face dampening the joy. He agrees to the one on the phone and, once he ends the conversation, he begins telling the other woman, still humming with Magick, of their new ally. The smile is almost blinding on her face so he can’t help, but give a small quirk of his lips as well. He no longer screams in pain, but, with  contentment, he _sighs_.


	2. Normal Life...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stefan tell Bonnie, Damon and Liz what Elena and he have being doing since they left.

“I know we didn’t keep in touch after we left, but we just needed some time off. We needed a break from the supernatural drama around Mystic Falls.” Stefan began once the unconscious brunette in his arms was carefully laid down on Caroline’s bed to rest. The brown haired young man had said she would be fine, that he’d given her some blood before getting here, hoping it would help heal her faster.

“Elena was so happy to be free from all the problems, and so was I, to be honest. She had wanted to call, to sent some kind of sign that we were alright. We missed you all. But it was never the right time, there was always something getting in the way.” Damon could barely contain himself from saying something hurtful to Stefan’s little tale, but he did. Maybe Bonnie standing to his right was what reeled him in, maybe not. He was, nonetheless, proud of himself for this modicum of control he'd just displayed. “The first few days we spent on the road. We thought it best until we found somewhere to stay.” The younger man continued. “We eventually settled on the outskirts of New York. There was this little town, quiet and nice – safe – and so we decided to buy a house there. The fact that New York was a mere hour away helped in our choice as well.” he paused, drew in a deep breath and took a sip of his tea, looking anywhere else, but at Damon, who, although noticed it, said nothing of it. He was used to being ignored by his brother, it was already a routine, despite the one year gap. It hurt just as much as when they were both human though usually then it was their father's job.

It was for the best anyways, saying nothing. The memory of them leaving still burnt in his chest, the memory of Elena’s voice saying she’d heard his scream yet dismissed it seconds later still left a bitter taste in his mouth. _To believe I ever loved her_! It almost made him laugh and curse himself at the same time, thinking he actually thought he stood a fighting chance. Damon warranted a glance at Bonnie, his little witch was calmly and keenly listening to Stefan’s story. For all intents and purposes, she looked every bit the same as she used to one year ago, but Damon knew better now. He’d spent the last few weeks with her, adjusting to his mortality, _to being human_ , and after the previous night, they were closer than ever. He could now read the anger in her as clearly as he could a book. From the clench of her lopsided mouth, rage boiling hot in her fiery eyes, in the shivers of her hands, her left touching his, but not quite holding. He wanted her to hold his hand, he wanted her to want him to hold hers, they both needed it. But she looked so tense and yet too … _calm_.

* * *

 

Bonnie didn’t blame Stefan for leaving, she understood why he’d done it. She wouldn’t even blame Elena had it not been for the last conversation between the two. Silently shaking her head, the witch focused back on the man speaking as he recounted his story, all the while yearning to grip Damon hand in hers. She knew he couldn’t be that much better than her now, she remembered enough of the aftermath of Stefan and Elena leaving, of _that day_. She could vividly see the two months that the annoying blue-eyed, now ex-vampire, either spent in his bedroom, not moving from his bed, or in a wheelchair as his spine worked to mend itself. Despite the clear dislike the two held for each other back then, not even Bonnie could blame him for the resentment he had felt towards Stefan and his girlfriend. More so, not even a year later could she understand _how in the name of the Goddess_ had Stefan _not heard Damon’s scream?!_ She’s had moments, however few, when she had wanted to ask the man about that morning, but the last time she’s had the thought, he had been so happy, simply cooking her dinner. It had been one of their “humanity lessons” gone late and since they hadn’t eaten anything all day, Damon had offered to cook her supper. The lasagna he had made that night still had her mouth watering. It had been the best meal she’s ever had. _It had been the best day I've had in ages._

“We made a life for ourselves there. With the lack of attempts to both mine and Elena’s life there was no reason to fall behind studies so she went on a few courses online to get a degree faster and I got a job at the local school as a librarian because we needed the money, compulsion only gets you so far before people get suspicious and also, Elena doesn’t like it when I compel for things. I had planned to head over to New York and open a small business, but I liked it so much, the normality, the routine that came with the librarian position that I just stayed. It was great for a while, we were happy. More than we have been in a long, long time. We even got engaged about five-six months ago.” A gasp worked its way out of Liz’s mouth, the sheriff’s eyes growing wetter, Bonnie couldn't remember when she even entered the room. Her mind then realized, _it was around the time Caroline …_

“The wedding was this January. I had wanted to call you, all of you. I need you in particular Damon, but in the end Elena had been right. Why bother you now, after all this time. So we got married, only a few other people there, my colleague at the library, Elena’s friends from her gym, the girls are a really nice couple too! And that was that.” Stefan continued, unaware of the emotional turmoil the other three were going through. January was the month Caroline woke up without her memory of the rape. The month Katherine had died and Klaus had left.

“And then that Elena got sick. We didn’t think anything of it in the beginning, it seemed to be much like a cold, but when she didn’t get any better, we got worried. So we went to a doctor who said he had no idea how something like this could be possible. I did some digging and found out that it was a form of magic. A curse placed on Elena. The witch that did it must be very powerful to be able to cast this particular one. I then talked to Meryl, you remember her Damon? The young witch we met in Brazil thirty years ago. She’s not a kid anymore. She helped me anyway, despite me almost killing her then. She told me that there is a man looking to get rid of the doppelganger. She told me of a potion I could make myself that should make Elena better, but that failed too. So when she started coughing up blood, I asked to turn her. We fought about it for a few days, but eventually she relented and so she became a vampire. But she was still sick and I couldn’t save her.” He was crying now, his voice chocked up, trembling, his face wet with tears. Liz was too, but not as badly. She has had her share of heartache this last year and it was enough for several lifetimes. “She’s been a vampire for two weeks now.” He managed to get out, but the tears wouldn’t stop. He was desperate, that was clear. “I took off yesterday night.” A small smile was shared between the witch and ex-vampire, but it was short lived. “She just collapsed and I couldn’t wake her up again. That’s when I gave her some blood, I had stashed up in our fridge. She wouldn’t… wouldn’t wake up. So I took her in my arms and rushed to the car. I drove all night to get here. Please, please I… I need your help.” He pleaded and his eyes were puffy from crying and so, _so green_. Damon hadn’t seen his brother crying so much since the night their mother died.

“I’d thought I’d lost all hope when I didn’t find you at the Boarding House after I found out Bonnie’s house was locked and no one was home. Luckily Matt told me you would be here. Help me, Bonnie, Damon. I don’t know what I should do anymore.” And so he stopped as Liz wound her arms around him, holding tightly as he cried silently in her shoulder, her eyes filled with sadness and understanding. Bonnie had grown still in the time it took him to finish, that she was more like a statue next to Damon than another human being, her hand clutching his painfully, but he didn’t care. _He,_ however, _couldn’t_ sit still. His left leg was moving up and down frantically, his left hand was fingering his phone mindlessly and his eyes darted around the room fixing eventually on a spider-web in a corner of it.

There was silence then. So much silence that they felt suffocated. And just as the silence was becoming unbearable, there was the ringing of a phone, there was a yelp from Bonnie and a quick snap of Damon’s wrist as he answered. There was Liz moving back in her seat and Stefan watching curious as Damon spoke.

“Yes Care” he drawled, his voice mocking, but there was nothing he could do to stop that, his head hurt and he was in no mood for Caroline’s bubbly attitude, despite it being what usually drew him out of his depression and anger.

“ _Don’t be mean! You’re the one who told me to call when I get in New Orleans and if I find anything interesting. Well I did both.”_ Stefan heard the blonde say, and his worry vanished momentarily at her obvious familiarity to his brother. When he had left they had been at each others necks. Then again … _Bonnie is holding Damon’s hand._

“Should I be getting Judgy here worried? Did you manage to piss of Klaus yet? Or did New Orleans throw you out for too much happiness and joy?” he continued, his voice now warm as he talked to her. He shouldn’t have been so harsh, she had saved his life that day and nearly everyday afterward until she couldn’t anymore. They were friends now.

“ _Hardy har, Salvatore! Bonnie doesn’t need to worry. Nik is more than happy with me, and New Orleans happens to love me! No, it’s about Esther. You know how apparently they found her and she’s been trying to resurrect Mikael? Well, you ever wondered how that happened? I’ll tell you anyway. Kol ‘s been running all around the US looking for her for a few months now. When that failed, he widened his search parameters an –“_

“You know what parameters are?!” Damon joked, making both Liz and Bonnie snicker a little, but then they turned back to look at Stefan and the fun ended. Damon cleared his throat. “Sorry, continue”

“ _As I was saying, he started looking elsewhere and apparently Esther is in Amsterdam looking for this dude… uhm, I forgot his name, that is supposed to be looking for a way to destroy all vampires in one go, Originals included. And he was, in turn, looking for some creature strong enough to protect him from said vampires. That’s where Esther comes in. Anyway, we’re staying in New Orleans until the end of the week so if you decide to join us, you might want to get here soon.”_ She ended her tirade with a sigh, hopeful, and Damon could already see the puppy stare she was trying to give him through the phone. He was about to say no, Stefan did need his help now more, when he heard Klaus adding something that made his blood run cold and his anger to spike.

“ _Love, did you also mention the doppelganger problem here?”_

“What did you just say?” Damon growled into the phone, as Stefan gripped his chair tight, his fingers digging into the material.

“ _Yes, mate. It is said that this man is trying to kill the doppelganger to draw upon her power. Now I’m not sure if Katherine was part of this or not, but you might want to put aide your ego and give our darling ripper a call. He might need some help. He’s welcome to join us and his little girlfriend can come too. We’ll be waiting Damon_.”

“ _Bye Damon!”_ Caroline chirped as Klaus’ footsteps began retreating. He also heard her screaming after the hybrid for being and ass to her friend, just before she ended the call. Damon then lifted his head, his bright blue eyes going from the little witch next to him to his brother across from him.

“Well, it seems we’re going to New Orleans and then Amsterdam. Why does Esther have to get involved in all of this shit?” he spoke, his tone dry and the sarcasm thick. Bonnie nodded next to him, before standing and with a kiss on his cheek she took off, no doubt to pack her bags and get her cookbook. Liz rose shakily, but smiled at him, and with a hug, she offered to keep Elena here while they went away. Stefan agreed and so the two reunited brothers were left wondering _. This would be interesting_ , thought Liz as she closed the door behind Bonnie, staring back at the two men in her living room. With a sigh she realized that she was once again stuck taking care of a girl she loved that had been reduced to a shell of what she had once been. Why did she always end up in these situations? She was holding Elena's hand when she heard the front door opening and closing again. Bonnie returned fast.

 


	3. A year ... A night...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damon and Stefan talk. Bonnie and Damon enjoy their new relationship.

It had been dark, cold and the wind sliced through the trees with outstanding force as he was walking back to his apartment, the night he met  _her_ . He had had a boring, monotonous life until her appearance and a never-ending struggle, a constant movement since. He remembered her eyes, a cold, unforgiving shade of blue as they stared into his own. Esther, her name had been, and then he remembered the spell. The excruciating pain, the horrible transformation. Now he was dead, forever gone, yet there she still existed. Esther, alive, fighting, desiring an end to the abominations she’d created, death to her children. Mark Trotter had been old, an age that showed in both his mannerisms as well as his physical form, tired, as shown in his ageless eyes and slow movements, and, more than anything, a creature of habit. That is, until he became a creature of nightmare. He died knowing his mistress would win, whether he lived or died, aware of her new allies.  _The Priestess and the Madman._

* * *

 

Despite the ultimatum Klaus had seemed so adamant in giving, Damon realized it would be pointless to go all the way to New Orleans only to fly off again to Amsterdam so he decided to text Caroline later to tell her they’ll just meet there. He mentioned nothing of Stefan, or Elena, to her in spite of many questions the bubbly blonde seemed to go through asking him. He occasionally had thought she had a list with all the questions she wanted to ask of someone and that would explain the rapid-fire speed she used when posing said inquires. He had been shocked to discover he had been wrong. She was just inquisitive by her very nature, to put it mildly – a motor-mouth if there was ever one. But now that she and “Nik” were going steady, Damon had held onto the hope that the hybrid would temper her down enough. He’d been wrong again and that knowledge brought a foreboding feeling, twisting in his gut. He wondered if it was just his imagination or if Klaus had really motor-spoke as well. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to that either way. It might be detrimental to his health and since he was now human that was a very important factor to take into account.

“Damon?” he heard from behind and, turning, he faced – full on for the first time since he was back – Stefan Salvatore. The blue eyed man tried to reign in the betrayal and anger he felt at being left alone to die by the brown haired, green eyed younger man before him. From the frown on Stefan’s less-than-it-used-to-be-but-not-by-much wrinkled forehead, he had failed for a third time. He wasn’t sure he was comfortable with that thought. “I’m sorry for just popping back and expecting you to drop everything to help, but I really didn’t–“

“No, it’s not that. I … since you left, my life has changed much more than you could ever imagine and I’m not even sure it’s for the better sometimes.” The brunet interrupted, downing the last mouthful of bourbon he had left in his glass. His mind flashed back to that morning, to the – really pretty now that he thought back on it – witch that had had him restrained to his bed, in his room, _in his own house_ and had been driving a dagger deeper and wider along his skin, into his body, cutting him in half slowly. He tried to block the smell of his own blood, dripping, dripping, _flowing_ from where she was carefully, surgically almost, slashing. He remembered the pain as though it were here, now, that he was dying. He could see the vibrant eyes of the witch, the fleshy lips mumbling a spell he knew was so complex she was risking her own life to perform it. And suddenly pain flashed through him, real and stabbing and piercing all at once.

He looked shocked when Stefan rushed to his side in an instant thanks to his _vampire speed_ , he spat in his own mind, – so he _was_ a little jealous, but can you blame him? – taking his hand in his to open it and get the shards of broken glass out of the palm. Damon winced at the sting as the fragments were hastily pulled out. It was then that Stefan noticed a great, obvious change Damon had experienced

“You’re human” the vampire stated, his green eyes widening – comically in Damon’s opinion – and he immediately dropped the bleeding hand, speeding to the other side of the living room and slamming himself into the wall.

“Yup” quipped the other one, nonchalantly responding, popping the “p” seemingly unperturbed by his brother’s desire to drink him dry. The Ripper was bubbling to the surface and yet the blue eyes remained stubbornly fixed on the still bleeding palm. The pain had subsided, _dulled_ , by now and he was almost amused by Stefan’s reaction. Or he would have been were he not annoyed by the browned haired man’s blatant rejection of his true nature. Stefan tried to bury those responses as deep as he could, yet Damon yearned for them more than ever. He was fine as a human, he had learned how to accept it – what was he, if not a survivor? – but he had thrived as a vampire. At least he got together with Bonnie thanks to it. _And Caroline’s help_ his mind helpfully reminded him, mocking.

“How? And stop the bleeding, _please_.” Asked the younger man.

“Simple. A weird-ass creature licked me and turned me human. I’ve no idea how to turn back since I can’t hold down any vampire blood” he answered flippantly. He wasn’t drunk enough for this conversation. “Wow” came Stefan’s reply and the sudden urge to take one of those shards and stab his little brother returned with a vengeance. But before he could go through with his plan, Bonnie entered the room, taking her seat next to him and giving him one of her “what did you do now?” stares matched with a beautiful glare that made him want to reenact the closet scene from a few hours ago. He pointed at the broken glass on the floor, then his hand and finally at his brother with a sharpening of his eyes. She nodded slowly, unsure whether she understood what he meant or not. She took the wounded hand and with an easy healing spell there was only a small scar left. He smiled at her both in gratitude and in an attempt at calming himself, knowing that her presence there would help ground him.

Stefan detached from the wall, hesitantly making his way to the chair he had been occupying before Damon’s accident. He was looking at the other two in the room, tracing their features – they looked older, more mature, hardened by time or circumstances, he wasn’t sure – scrutinizing their interactions – they were closer, more in tune with each other and, almost, dare he say it, intimate in their way of acting. He could see their relationship growing cohesive, the way they cared for one another plain to all who had eyes to see, and perhaps even those blind. He wasn’t sure how that had happened, but they had developed a friendship at the very least since he and Elena left a year ago. He was happy for them. Damon looked more blissful than he had ever been, Bonnie more content that she had been in many, many months, from even before they had left.

“Well, it was nice, but I’m going home now. Stef, the boarding house is free if you want to stay there.” Damon spoke, breaking the silence and standing to leave. Stefan, despite seeing it as strange, didn’t comment on the fact that Damon made it clear that he was no longer living in the Boarding House. He briefly wondered if it was finally put to good use, but he somehow doubted it. He was also curious where his brother was living now, but he decided to hold his tongue. It was clear that Damon was not his biggest fan nowadays. As Damon closed the door behind himself, Stefan was left in the company of Bonnie Bennett. He looked at her, smiling.

“So, Bonnie, how have you been?”

“In a coma for the better part of the last few months.” She said, her tone reminiscent that of his brother, an edge to it that made him flinch as if slapped. He once again questioned how close the two had become. “Sorry, it’s been a long year for us Stefan. Damon more than anyone, save maybe Sheriff Forbes.” She continued, the look on her face apologetic and tired. He nodded and smiled understanding.

“Should I get Elena too? Or will Sheriff Forbes be alright with her staying here?”

“She’s gotten used to it” is all Bonnie said before taking her leave as well, following after Damon. He only then heard his brother’s Camaro roaring to life and the two, the former vampire and the witch, conversing. He shook his head with a soft smile, more tired than anything. He went to ask Liz about his wife, but he found the woman in the doorway, just nodding in agreement. He thanked her and left as well. He contemplated whether coming home was really a good choice, but the answer was obvious to him. It had been the best choice.

* * *

 

Damon was driving, the light blue Camaro, his baby, steady beneath and around him, with Bonnie’s reassuring hand in his own, though he had never been the hand holding type. He did not take his eyes off the road, but he knew without a shred of doubt that were he to look at her, he would see her eyes sparking in unshed tears, reflecting understanding and love back at him. His fingers twitched on the wheel. _Love? Since when does she love me? She hasn’t told you anything, you moron! You haven’t either… Not that I do … or don’t … Uhm, I mean, I –_

“DAMON!” she screamed, getting his attention, and from the look on her face, she had been yelling his name for quite a while now. Snapping out of his thoughts – traitorous as they were – Damon and Bonnie made their way to her house. They had been living there ever since they returned from killing Trotter as Bonnie had thought that it would be a better way to teach Damon how to be human. They had developed their own routine since.

As they enter the house, locking the door behind them, the witch holding the keys in her hand as she twisted her wrist, Damon spun her around so that her back was suddenly against the wood and her face inches from his own. Her breath hitched and her face flushed with heat from the darkening color of his eyes, chest heaving, brushing against his own with every fast breath.

“Damon” she spoke, her voice a plea and a reprimand in equal parts. He smirked, stepping just that tiny little bit closer, one of his knees coming to rest in-between her legs, brushing against the crotch of her pants infinitesimally, enough to drive her crazy. She knew why he was doing this. She realized that it was an attempt to distract himself from today’s events as much as it was his desire for her – and, _oh_ how she could _feel_ that desire plainly – and while she thought that perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to go along with it, the heat traveling through her blood, spreading thorough her body like liquid fire was like a vice to her willpower. Her yearning appeared to be more than her mind’s wishes and so, the moment his lips closed over her pulse point, her knees wobbled and her mouth opened in a silent gasp, shivers crawling over her skin giving her gooseflesh, the memories from last night fresh in her mind.

Her hands wove around his neck, her fingers clenching and unclenching at his hair, pulling and scratching as his teeth nibbled on her jaw, his hands gripped her hips and his knee rubbed her in the most delicious way. She snapped her neck backwards, ignoring the pain in her skull as her head connected hard with the door, a moan torn out of her when he pressed against her clit once, just _once_ , before he disentangled himself from her with a smirk. He turned to leave.

She glared, her eyes drawing targets on his back as he continued to walk into the kitchen, talking to her animatedly about what she wanted for dinner when her resolve snapped. And while she knew it had been his plan all along, she couldn’t stop the tiny keen she let out as she stepped toward him, pushing him against the counter.

Damon looked at her from over his shoulder, growing harder at the sight of her pupils swallowing every last drop of green from her gaze. He swore out loud when her small hand closed around his erection and her lips brushed against his ear only to whisper “ _not so fast, asshole”_. Her voice was low, breathy, a contrast to the steady grip she had on him. She tightened her fingers once, then palmed him through his jeans and his eyes rolled at the back of his head when she let magic wash over him in waves, multiplying his pleasure. It was as if there were thousand of fingers, kneading and caressing, pulling, stroking, liquid fire swarming around him, drowning him and drawing him in. With a growl he switched their positions, lifting her onto the counter and taking off her pants and underwear in record time. Ripping off her top, he groaned when he saw she hadn’t been wearing a bra. She made quick work of his own clothes, pulling desperately, but only managed to dispose of them with his help. His jacket was thrown across the room, his shirt was left hanging from the edge of the dining table and his pants pooled at his feet. There were few moments when Bonnie was thankful for him going commando and this was one of then as the head of his cock rubbed against the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. She was soaking and tense, wound up like a spring. Damon let his head fall onto her shoulder as her small hands gripped his upper arms tight when his hips surged forwards faster than either thought possible.

There was no time for foreplay now, not like the closet, when with each movement they had brushed over each other, teasing and touching until they were half undone without one article of clothing taken off, when their breaths became one, intermingling, and at the end all that was were two people grinding into one another, slowly, patiently, keen passion fueling them. No, this time there were loud moans when her entered her, his full length stretching her walls, only to draw back and move in again, thrusting to the hilt until there was no telling where she ended and he began. Her legs wrapped around his body, the calves digging into his lower back, pulling him deeper as he groaned against her right breast before flicking his tongue over an erect nipple as his hand began toying with the other. As he began sucking, his tongue lavishing the fleshy mound, her hands went back to his soft hair, but it didn’t last long before she was running her nails across his back, leaving angry lines behind as she whined and writhed against him. She rolled her hips and he bit his lip so hard that droplets of blood filled his mouth only to be shared with her as Bonnie pulled him into a kiss. She sucked on his lip, smearing her lips red and Damon almost came right then, cursing his mortality for the umpteenth time because he could no longer take as much pleasure as he used to do in the act.

Faster, Damon moved as her moans became yells and her walls clenched around him. Sweat dripped, slicking their bodies, and more screams erupted when he thumbed her clit, circling around it, then finally pinching it hard and her hand enclosed on his buttock, pulling him even closer. Another thrust and she was seeing stars as he grazed that spot deep inside her that made light bulbs explode around them and a raw scream of his name to reverberate throughout the house. One more push and pull, two more and he was gone too, tumbling over the edge with a growl of her name and a bite to her shoulder. Together they slumped, her against the counter and him against her. The sound of their breathing engulfed the kitchen and once they detached, Damon stepped back to help her come down without falling over. When they put their clothes on, Bonnie finally answered the question from earlier. Damon’s disbelieving laugh made her giggle despite being still short of breath. Together they ate, laughing and talking.

It hit Damon that night, while they lay in bad – her head on his chest, an arm strewn over his rising and falling chest, legs entangled as if she waned to hold him to her forever– just how domestic it had all become and a smile graced his lips without his consent. He closed his eyes and fell asleep in seconds, never to know the answering grin from the beauty in his arms, for Bonnie had opened her eyes at the perfect moment. She closed her eyes again, the happiness she’d witnessed on his face – that made him look younger – becoming the image she took with her to the realm of dreams. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this. Also I suck at smut scenes...


	4. New Orleans...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus and Caroline in New Orleans.

Morning came, the sun breaking through the nearly transparent drapes at the window, the light reflected in her golden curls which tickled his neck where they touched. He opened his bleary eyes, sleep still making them hazy and half closed. He traced her figure draped over him, from her cat-like eyes of a soft bright green to her long arched neck to her toned abdomen – testament of her cheer-leading days – and long legs. He smiled at the neon green toenails she’d painted the previous night just before going to bed together. The woman was surely a surprise in many ways that sometimes he forgot her true age, her youth. A sigh had him turning his eyes back to her angelic face framed by her hair like a halo. Caroline let her eyes shift from closed to nearly shut, peaking from beneath long lashes at the man underneath her – her left leg draped over both of his, her head over his heart, one arm thrown over his chest. A radiant grin stole his breath away and he was thankful he did not need the air, for he would have died right then from its absence.

 _What happened to you?! One baby vamp smiling and you’re done? Who are you?!_ The thought was abandoned, however, almost as soon as it came, as she lifted herself on her elbows, now on either side of his head and touched her lips to his in a gentle kiss that soon turned hungry. Caroline briefly wondered if that’s why the first period of dating was called the “honeymoon”, because it always went back to them rolling around the sheets. The grin widened in remembrance.

Klaus could hardly recollect the last time he’d ever been this happy, though seeing that Marcel had survived the fire from a few decades ago, had to be a close enough second occasion. There had been moments, over the years, when he would awaken in dread, his father's face as he revealed Marcel tied on that stage to be murdered flashing through his mind. His phone rang, jolting him from thoughts of his former apprentice – that was more like a son anyways – when he noticed that it had only been a message. He groaned in irritation as Caroline giggled in the crook of his neck which she had previously been kissing.

Nik, you need to get to Amsterdam faster. Mother has gotten more help than I’d initially thought. One of her allies is a voodoo practitioner, a priestess of the Old Powers. Get here fast! Rebekah had written.

His smile faded at the words. The Old Powers were the first witches, stronger than any other, perhaps even than his mother. It was not a laughing matter as coming up against one of the Old Powers’ subjects would require at least enough power to take out a large coven of witches. Maybe calling Damon had been the right course of action after all. Despite his newly found mortality, the Salvatore knew how to plan. They were nearly always effective in one way or another – save for when Elena had been involved, she usually was at fault for their failures – so Damon’s help would be much appreciated. And if his witch would join, then they might find enough power to hold their own against the priestess. If Caroline’s ‘Operation Bamon’ had worked as she had hoped it would, then the Bennett would surely come along as well and they’d have the strongest witch he’d met since his own mother and Ayana on their side.

Bonnie Bennett. Damon Salvatore. Should he really put so much faith in them? They had been enemies only a year prior after all. Before Caroline’s attack. Before Katerina’s death. Before Bonnie’s coma and Damon’s mortality. Before _he’d_ rediscovered his own humanity in the shape of a perky little blonde baby-vampire who could melt his heart with a wink of her eyes or a quirk of her pout-y mouth or an arch of her brow. How had he fallen so? Did he even care anymore? Was it still a weakness? A strength? He _did not care._ She was his and he hers. They … _Us_. He smirked.

He threw the phone aside with a quick reply to his sister, telling her that they wouldn’t be long. Then he pinned the woman to their bed, stopping her from her desire to meet up with Marcel and go karaoke. She let out a squeak and then huffed indignant. The look was wiped from her face as soon as he slowly began making his way down her body, mapping it with his lips, tongue and teeth. Caroline whined, the sound echoing inside the silent bedroom and his heart sang in love for this one person that had accepted him as he was, despite her own scars and tortures, some even at his hand.

“Nik! I need to shower! And God knows how my hair looks like!” she argued halfheartedly,whining more, but remained in his arms, her protests dissolving into gasps of delight. They really spent a lot of time in bed, Caroline realized as she threw her head back when he bit lightly into her collarbone, hardly painful as it was.

Niklaus Mikaelson rarely hesitated, but he couldn’t help question whether he was truly deserving of the love Caroline Forbes was bestowing upon him with each new day. Selfishness won in the end, as they were coming down from their height of pleasure, and he whispered “I love you”. Her answering “love you too”, mumbled against his lips with a lazy smile was the only reminder he needed to keep his sanity in a world where his own mother was trying to kill him. Caroline hopped out of bed minutes later, running towards the bathroom and into the shower before he even thought of lifting his head. She was dressed and out of the door soon after, yelling an “I’m off to see Marcel!” that made him chuckle on his way to the bathroom.

* * *

Tugging at her skirt since it wouldn’t stay the way she wanted it to, Caroline marveled at the beauty of New Orleans. Her eyes took in the majestic architecture, wiping past house after house of pure history – and though she had never been that passionate in the subject, she couldn’t help but wonder how had the city been years ago – her ears were enchanted by the smolder rhythm of jazz music, her body swaying softly to the beats buzzing in the air, and her nose was constantly picking up delicacy after delicacy of food around her. She wasn’t even noticing the many people around, the usually prominent smell of their blood no longer torturing her with hunger. She almost didn’t observe when the brown-skinned, grinning man known by most as Marcel Gerard called out her name, she was too entranced by the small funeral parade happening on the other side of the street, the music somber enough for death, but still up-beat in a way she couldn't help but dance too.

“Caroline!” she eventually heard and a smile spread on her lips. She waved at him, tearing her eyes off of the band and string of people dressed in black and jogged to reach the bar he was standing in front of. They hugged and with a joke from the man, they entered the karaoke-bar laughing. Caroline ordered a cocktail, green and fruity and sweet – refreshing in one word – while he got one of his special concoctions – a blood-laced bourbon had tasted delicious to any vampire – and they started talking. Caroline knew what he was wondering about, Nik had been very clear in what he though of the fact that Marcel took over New Orleans, so the blonde assumed the older vampire had questions about her boyfriend – Okay, so she’d agreed to call Nik her lover in public, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t refer to him as her boyfriend in her head, right? What didn’t kill you and all that.

“Sooo… what did Klaus say last night?” the question was as inconspicuous as a blunt blow to the head and Caroline couldn’t stop the sudden bout of giggles that burst from her lips. She shook her head in disbelief at the man’s antics and with a smile she reassured him Nik wouldn’t try anything against him – well, anytime soon that was, she could only do so much about the stubborn man she was with.

“Also, you should know we won’t be here for long. Maybe another day or two.” She added soon after. Marcel nodded and then they were back to drinking and joking around. Marcel seemed to have the same type of humor as Damon which meant that she could get along with him very well. God, she really missed her best-friends! She never thought she’d miss the blue-eyed man as much as she did, Bonnie definitely, Damon, not so much, or better said, if you had asked her a two years ago she wouldn't have missed him. She did miss them both though. Taking another swig of her drink, she watched as Marcel got up and made is way to the microphone. _That vampire sure can sing_ , she thought once more, having discovered the talent the other night.

Klaus and she had been driving without stopping for what seemed like day when finally, the welcome sign appeared. They sped to what had been Nik’s family house from when he and his siblings had first settled down in Louisiana and were shocked to see that it was inhabited. Klaus entered, Caroline a step behind him, and looked for whoever was living inside his home. When Marcel rounded a corner suddenly, Caroline barely had the time to avoid crashing into the hybrid’s back from how fast he stopped. She had worried then, for only a few moments, whether Nik had had a heart attack, but she quickly dismissed that idea due to its sheer stupidity. After that, she had wanted to introduce herself, but Marcel said Klaus’ name stupefied and she was thrown off guard as well. It was then that the hybrid snapped back to reality and almost flew across the room to tackle the younger vampire to the ground. She was fast enough to disentangle the two quarreling men, but not enough to spare them the occasional wound. Klaus had a broken rib, a twisted wrist and busted lip – all of which easily healed – while Marcel had a broken leg, two fist-sized bruises on his face and a cut on his brow – just as easy to fix. They looked ridiculous to her and she had told them so. Klaus had then taken to threatening the other man about what happened to those that stole his things before leaving, which, of course, meant that Caroline had to do the damage control again. Why she ended up like this she would never understand, but she was sure of one thing. Despite the similar situations between Damon's tantrums and Klaus', the hybrid obviously cared more about Marcel than he let out.

Caroline spent the next hour or so clearing things up and trying to gather information about where had the two men met or what had been between them. She learned that Klaus had taken Marcel in as a child, basically saving him from his abusive, slave-driver of a father, and raised him as his own, even giving him the name of Marcellus Gerard. She felt her heart swell and realized then what the vampire across from her meant to her boyfriend – a son. She promised she would talk to Nik and get him to understand what had happened. How Marcel barely survived Mikael, how he struggled to rebuild his city, how he became the “King” of New Orleans. She still wasn’t sure if she succeeded, but Klaus had at least listened to her and agreed to talk to his protegee about everything so she could only count that as a win-win situation. It could have been much worse, that was for sure.

The song ended and soon, the older vampire rejoined her at the table and they resumed their drinking. They stayed for about another half hour, during which Caroline sang two songs and then another together with the man, then Marcel offered to take her on a tour around the city, an opportunity she refused to pass up, so they spent most of the afternoon together, becoming friends. The only slight pause in their tour had been when Caroline got a message from Bonnie telling her she and Damon would either get there a day or two later or that they would completely skip New Orleans and meet directly in Amsterdam. She had sent an “okay” and a thumbs-up back. Frankly, she had hoped they’d say that. Despite her missing them, it was still a fact that the moment they met, things would get dangerous again. After that small break, Marcel showed her the La Fayétte cemetery, complete with the grave of Marie Laveau, the infamous voodoo queen. They had a lot of fun, so when Nik texted her later that afternoon, Caroline was in high spirits. Marcel walked her to where she and Klaus were staying, and while she showered and changed, the men talked and worked out their issues. So what if when she came back there were more broken items in the living room, at least they were smiling at each other now. Caroline counted that a success as well.

“Caroline, shall we head out to dinner?” Nik asked her as Marcel left the hotel room and she smiled brightly at him. He took her hand, kissing her knuckles and making her chuckle, and with a smirk he led her down the stairs and into a limousine. She swore that, were she not already dead, the excitement would have killed her. She could feel her heart pumping wildly and it was quite the feat considering vampire’s heartbeat should be slower then a humans’. He blindfolded her when the car stopped, and with her hand in his, he slowly guided her forward. When he finally slowed to a halt, she could barely keep the feelings bubbling inside her under control. He untied the blindfold and the sight left her breathless.

They were near the bayou, in a place that had clearly been planned out, there were fireflies all around them, lighting up the darkness, in-between some trees – tall and with their branches filled with dark green leaves hanging low like a canopy – where a beautifully arranged table for two had been placed. There was a candle in the middle of the table, ornate and scented – unlike the ones Bonnie usually used for her spells that gave off heady smells that always left her with a headache – and two plates with steaming delicious food awaiting them. Caroline grinned abashed and lifted on her toes to kiss Klaus fully on the lips before she took his hand and dragged him to the chairs to sit down. He was a perfect gentleman and pulled her chair so she would sit down and the simple and yet so meaningful action caused a blush to settle on her cheeks. She still hadn't gotten used to being pampered. They talked and danced the night away – Caroline pleasantly surprised to notice that it hadn’t been red wine in their glassed but blood – and glorious food she had never thought she would be able to taste in her life. It had been heaven.

And when, later that night, she snuggled to his chest and peppered kisses on his neck and collarbones slowly drifting to sleep she wondered what would her life have been had she never agreed to give him a change. It had been the first night in months when she had been able to dream about her rape and not wake up fearful because Klaus was finally there to stay with her. instead, she smiled through her tears and waited for the day the rape would fade enough that she would be able to go a night without seeing it replayed to her.

* * *

 

A woman walked the streets of a city, humming a slow haunting tune that summoned shivers to dance across the skin of her male companion. He was keeping up with her, barely, his mind rushing over the excitement of the day, his blood pumping power through his veins. Her voice grew louder, the song French, as she let words slips through her lips and his shivers increased.

[ _Dominique, nique/ Nique s’en allait tout simplement/ Routier pauvre et chant–_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObPsIckcKQM)

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song at the end is called Dominique by Soeur Marie. The link's attached to the lyrics in the story...


	5. Domestic bliss...?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Returning to life in Mystic Falls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I put two out since I haven't updated in forever. Hope you enjoy them.

Marcel walked the street of his home, the alleys and roads he had grown up with and thought. It had been many years since he’d last seen his maker and he had to admit, the man had changed in that time. He smirked at his friend, Diego, who was drinking a nice little redhead for dinner today, and greeted his people. He had always tried to find a place for himself so being the King of New Orleans had seemed to work wonderfully. If only Klaus wouldn’t try and steal his place. Perhaps he would not, Caroline was intelligent, she knew how to handle the hybrid and, most importantly, she loved the man. If anyone could make Niklaus Mikaelson listen, it would be her. Her inherent goodness was only another advantage, her light stifling some of Klaus’ darkness. He liked Caroline, he’d decided, and he liked her even more for loving his … _father?_ Klaus was the closest thing he had as one, so maybe he _was_ his father. Marcel smiled. New Orleans had guests, two of a kind, and who was he, if not a great host. A new parade was due.

* * *

 

Damon woke up more tired than ever. His head pounded and his throat was dry and scratchy. He groaned, swinging an arm over his eyes to block the brightness of the sun, but the gruff sound only served to make him even more miserable. He curled into Bonnie, but found her gone. He begrudgingly opened his eyes then, searching the room. He couldn’t hear the shower running so she wasn’t in the bathroom, _maybe the kitchen?_ Standing up, he let his feet touch the carpet covered floor and slowly dragged himself towards the other room, brushing his teeth sluggishly and struggling to swallow. His throat was killing him, aching and burning. _What the fuck is it now?!_ His nose was stuffy too, to add insult to injury. This morning was proving to be a bother already!

“Bon?” he tried to yell, but it came out as chocked and it only irritated his throat further. “Are you making breakfast?” he gave it another go and was rewarded by her answer, a loud and clear ‘Yes’ from downstairs. So she was cooking, how nice.

Damon trudged down the stairs and rounded the corner to sit at the small table, but he stopped in the doorway to trace her form, wearing one of his shirts – the blue one, that Caroline said brought out his eyes – and working over the stove to make sure the omelets didn’t burn. He almost didn’t notice the other person inside the kitchen, but Stefan’s awkward position at the table was hard to miss. Damon cleared his throat – _if only it would stop hurting!_ – and gave his brother a small salute as he made his way to the coffee pot. He found it hard to function without at least one cup every morning, ever since he’d become human.

“Morning” he mumbled into his mug, leaning to kiss Bonnie on the cheek and once more wondering when had they become so damned domestic. Stefan said nothing, but Damon couldn’t say he had expected any different. Bonnie smiled at him and poured the omelets into three plates. _So little brother is joining us for breakfast, is he?_

“What’s with your voice, Damon?” the woman asks, chewing on her food and sipping her own mug of dark liquid. The blue eyed man shrugs, it’s not like he is sure of it himself. “Maybe it was the freezing weather from yesterday, I did tell you to get a jacket. I think you’ve got a cold.” His scoff wasn’t anything new, but the slight distressed that flickered on his face afterward was. Bonnie tried very hard to keep her mirth to herself, but the laughter burst out before she could contain it fully. Damon glared, but even he could understand the irony of having a common cold after a century and a half of clean health. He sniffed and then scowled for doing the action that cause another bout of giggles from his roommate.

Stefan watched the exchange with increasing interest, the relationship between the two former frenemies clearly changed over these months. He felt guilty again for having left without a word, but he stood his ground on the decision. It had been the best thing then, as coming back was the best for now. Bonnie said something else he didn’t quite get, but Damon obviously did if his amused glare was answer enough, then he threw a piece of eggshell he’d found in his plate at her mockingly. She shook her head at his childishness and turned to Stefan with a look that spoke of how much she pitied him for having Damon as his older brother, but she smiled next, winking which seemed to contradict her earlier reaction. Stefan realized how well Bonnie and Damon’s relationship worked, how well the two interacted with each other and how close they’d gotten. He was sad not to have witnessed it grow from the hateful comments to this familiarity and obvious care they now had.

“So how is Elena this morning? Any changes?” the witch asks once she ended the combination of indignant snorts, half-hearted glares and soft slaps over the head she had begun trading to his brother for insulting her cooking skills. Stefan shook his head, Elena had been asleep when he had left, her breathing still staccato, but better then before and her face flushed with fever. If anything it was the same, but with different symptoms.

“I checked on her before leaving Liz’ and there were differences, but overall she seemed to be the same. I’m getting worried that the more we stay here, the more chances there are of her getting worse and dying. Didn’t Klaus say they were targeting the doppelganger? Maybe we should see if Katherine has any idea about who this guy is, it’s the least she –“ but he ended his sentence abruptly when Damon stood up and punched him, the fist connected hard with his jaw, yet not strong enough to move him from his place at the table. Bonnie muttered a small spell which seemed to render the older man paralyzed, his hand extended in another punch which would have certainly hurt worse, and then she dragged Stefan from his chair, pulling him behind her as they exited the house quickly. She entered her car, waited for the man to join her and drove off, muttering what Stefan could only assume was a counter spell to let Damon go. She stopped at the edge of the forest. Stefan was beyond confused by now.

“Come on” she said and her tone bore no trace of the previously light-hearted young woman. She was serious and agitated and harsh, her voice regaining that same sharpness from the other day. Stefan followed her without a sound, realizing there was something here he had missed, something he was about to be told. He thought about Damon’s reaction and frowned, he had thought his brother had gotten over Katherine, at the very least he had stopped loving her. Why would he react like that? Stefan didn’t think that he had done anything too bad, he had referred to the woman in that tone many times before, Damon himself had done so as well, what could have possibly changed since? He was confused, but he hoped Bonnie would answer some of his questions.

Then, they stopped, a wide plain around them. They were a mere 100 feet away from the Boarding House. The sun shone brightly, the tree’s stood tall and green, the grass soft and plush and Bonnie walked forward, one step at a time as if afraid that if she hurried whatever it was she was going toward would break. Stefan watched as her steps ended, observing her look down upon – what he saw from where he was – a patch of ground. She beckoned him to stand by her and he did, his eyes following her line of sight and gasped at the sight. A plaque of concrete imbedded in the earth. A grave.

_Here lies Katherine Pierce,_

_Daughter and mother._

_May she find freedom in death if she could not do so in life._

And suddenly it made sense. Katherine was dead. Damon had known that and had obviously buried her, taking the time to write on her gravestone something so true about the woman that had broken them that the vampire was sure it had hurt. Stefan smiled, but it was forced. He had never thought he would live to see the day Katherine Pierce would die. She had seemed a constant in their lives ever since that first day they’d met, something… eternal. Gone. He wished he could say he was sad, it would be the good thing to feel, it was what he should feel for she was now dead, but he could not. She had ruined his life, his brother’s life and many others, it was better that she was dead, and yet …

“When did she die? How?” he found himself saying, his voice expressionless. He shuddered at his own insensitivity. Bonnie turned to look at him and he recognized her expression, it was what he was sure he used to give Damon whenever he appeared to not care about anyone and anything. When had he fallen so far?

“She died in January, when you were busy getting married to Elena.” Bonnie snapped, but she soon realized how she must have sounded and apologized. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that, it’s just… January was a long month for all of us and you were gone. As for how she died… I don’t know. Damon was the one who found her and he hasn’t really spoken about that with anyone. All I know is that he had a sort of breakdown after he buried her the first time. We reburied her after we killed the one responsible and got this grave. We didn’t see Katherine even when he dug her up to put her into a coffin. Damon did all that too and I saw what _it_ did to him. Stefan, he looked shattered that day. I have never seen him look so bad since– Never mind.” She dismissed. It was not her story, not truly. Maybe it was Caroline’s too, but not hers.

“Since what? Bonnie what else happened?” he sounded distressed and she wanted to tell him, if only to make him understand why Damon could not forgive him so soon, but what could she say? _Since you left your brother to be cut in half? Since you left him to deal with being paralyzed from waist down? Since having his best friend leave town because he was being taken over by a vampire-murdering alter ego? Since his other best friend got raped and almost killed?_ How could she say any of it? It wasn’t something you just blurted out at dinner, or you turned into small talk. And it wasn’t hers to share. It was Damon’s and Caroline’s. It was their lives, their experiences. She’d said hers, she told him about her coma. He needn’t know what caused it. He knew enough. And he had his happiness away from here, _from them_ , he’d gotten a chance at life – normal and without the horrid things they faced – and he’s gotten a chance at love, free from the troubles that seem to plague Mystic Falls. How could she destroy that? What right did she have to take that away?

“Nothing, I … I just thought of something else and my mouth got ahead of me.” She lied, but the lie felt heavy on her tongue, as if it was only a matter of time before the truth – her terrible, awful truth – came out. She wished it wouldn’t. “We should head back. Damon will only get angrier the more we stay away. And we have to start packing. It’s already Friday. Caroline said that she and Klaus are staying until Sunday so we should be ready to either join them in New Orleans or head to Amsterdam directly.”

“Yeah, we should head back. I’ll talk to Damon, I’ll apologize.” Stefan mumbled and Bonnie breathed in relief. And then she remembered. _Oh, God! Damon! I paralyzed him! How could I have been so stupid! I knew what he’d gone through and yet I do this?! What is wrong with you Bonnie Bennett?! He trusted you and you basically forced him to relive that moment?! If he ever wants to talk to me again I’ll be lucky._ I _wouldn’t want to talk to me._ She swore that she would never use that spell on him ever again, whether he forgave her or not, even if he turned serial killer and she was the only one who could stop him. “I’m sorry, Damon” she whispered and if Stefan heard, he kept silent about it all the way back to her house. He left her though, walking abck to Liz'. This morning sure ended up worse than it had started. And it was already late afternoon. Why was she even surprised anymore?

* * *

 

Damon spent the time after his new girlfriend and his brother left, trying to drink his memories away while his sniffling got worse and he began sneezing every few seconds. It was hell. And his mind was a traitor too, replaying the moment of finding Katherine over and over in his head. From the contorted body – bruised, broken and bleeding – to her empty brown eyes – devoid of the usual mischievous brightness, hollow – that stared toward his house – intently and almost pleadingly – to her gray skin – still warm, still pliable, but _dead_ – and the half scream on her lips – cut and soft. He shook his head, another swig of bourbon burning his throat, as he flexed his leg muscles if only to make sure he could still feel them.

A wave of rage washed over him combining with the fright he had felt when Bonnie paralyzed him, his breathing becoming shallow and accelerated. He chugged his alcohol down in one swift gulp of the beverage and shook his head. Bonnie probably didn’t even understand how much it had affected him to be unable to move, even for those few seconds she’d kept him restrained, but he had remembered in those moments what it felt to be cut open, exposed and unable to defend himself. He saw, in those seconds, the months of, either, never leaving his room – Ric and Caroline by his side, helping, healing him – or of having to use a wheelchair to be able to just _move_. He had abhorred that time, he had done whatever he had been able to, to forget it. Now, it all came crashing back. The helplessness, the despair, the loneliness. Suffocating him. Smothering his psyche and weakening his body, they repeated before his very eyes. They hurt. He could not stand being perceived as weak or being taken as a fool or the thing that everyone else had to drag along for he was unable to carry his own weight. He had learned to live by himself and for himself long before Katherine ever came into his life, from the time his mother had gotten ill, and then died – which still brought an emptiness inside his chest from time to time – he had been on his own, sometimes having to be there for Stefan as well. His father had resented him, for reasons still unknown, and he had a little brother that needed him. He was used to being the strong one, the one everyone else turned to during a crisis. He hadn’t been anything then. And he had hated it…

Bonnie Bennett ruined his illusion of perfection, she had opened the floodgates of his worse memories and there was nothing he could do to close them back up. Damon punched the table in frustration, his eyes growing redder as he struggled to hold the tears inside. He blinked and one, two tears falling onto the wood below him and he punched the table harder this time, not stopping as he punched and cried until his knuckles were raw and bleeding and his eyes had dried back up. He cleaned the kitchen and waited. Bonnie would want to apologize. He would let her, if only because of how much he cared and how well he knew her. She hadn’t wanted to hurt him, she just hadn’t wanted him to hurt Stefan. He understood. The door opened, he breathed in deeply. She stepped inside.

 


	6. Reunited again ...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie, Damon and Stefan meet up with Caroline and Klaus.

“Damon…” voice hesitant, Bonnie Bennett stood in front of the man she was beginning to fall in love with, her eyes watering as she saw the hurt burning inside the steely blue depths of his. She sighed, drew in a deep breath and, taking Damon’s hand in hers for she could no longer help it, she spoke.“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize what I was doing. I didn’t think and I hurt you because of that. I should have known better and I _do_ know better, but somehow I did that and I can’t even begin to imagine what that must have brought back.” Bonnie exhaled as she felt his fingers twitching in hers in an effort to stop himself from clutching her hand, no doubt rage swirling inside of him. She could basically read the pain and anger in his gaze. She had really done it this time. It was usually him that caused their fights, even now, after having lived together for months, even after becoming friends and learning about each other at the same time as he learned to be human. It was usually him that fucked up and she was the one hurt and seeking comfort, not that he was admittedly doing that. He was Damon Salvatore after all, he didn’t show weakness and he wasn’t supposed to be kind. And yet, with the witch, he couldn’t help himself.

“Bonnie” she flinched. He never called her by her given name. Never. But his voice held no anger now, only a sense of exhaustion that made her heart ache. _God, how cold she have been so stupid?_ “I know why you did it.” He continued, his eyes closing and a frown marring his handsome features. “And I know you’re sorry, but you have to promise, _swear to me_ , you won’t use that spell on me ever again. Swear.” She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes and falling down her cheek as she heard his scratchy voice – because of the cold or because he was about to cry, she wasn’t sure – and she could do nothing to stop her legs from carrying her forward, her arms going under his waist and splaying onto his back – hugging him, holding on for dear life. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry” she repeated over and over again until he shushed her with a kiss. Bonnie gave a broken smile once they separated, remorseful and hopeful. She stood on her toes and gave him a quick peck, eyes still shining with unshed tears.

“Now, Bon-Bon, where did Steffy go? Don’t tell me he left again so soon?” he spoke, the tone forced, caustic. Bonnie was about to answer, the atmosphere growing serious, but he sneezed, a soft, barely heard sneeze that pulled a giggle from the witch’s lips. It reminded Bonnie of a kitten. Adorable! She grinned at his pouting face and gave him another kiss as she ducked under his arm to enter the bathroom. “I’ll give you some coughing syrup. I have no idea how your body will react to antibiotics after a century and a half of being dead so better safe than sorry.” She told him, laughing again when she heard him grumbling in the living room. Despite their fights, which were just as many as before, if not even more since they realized how much they liked their arguments, they sure didn’t stay mad at each other long. She returned with the strawberry flavored syrup, opened the bottle and gave the man a spoonful of it as if he were her child. Damon scowled and tried to glare, but the sneezes returned with a vengeance, his nose becoming stuffy and his throat starting to hurt. All thoughts of Stefan disappeared.

“Bon, can you do any witch-y juju to move this along? I can’t go to fucking Amsterdam with the flu!” he whined, making the woman send him a look which betrayed the incredulity regarding that statement. Was he serious?! She’d told him magic wasn’t to be used lightly, but did he ever listen? No!

“Damon…” she warned softly and he snorted in defense. Better not start this again.

“What did you and little brother do?” despite the apparent lightness, Bonnie had spent enough time with the blue-eyed devil to know that he was anxious. That he was vulnerable and likely to snap if she gave any indication that she knew that about him. She needed to thread lightly.

“I took him to see Katherine. You didn’t go there this morning. There were no new flowers.” She spoke, moving to sit down in front of the television. Damon followed her with his eyes. His expression was unreadable, the perfect poker face and the witch hated it. She hated it because she had gotten to understand that, although she didn’t know how to read it properly, it was a mask, a mask to hide the pain and shame and guilt. And with Katherine, there were all three involved. Pain because of her death and because of how she tarnished his heart. Shame for ever falling for her tricks, for spending 145 years trying to find her. And guilt because he couldn’t have saved her, because she had been looking towards his house, because she had wanted to be saved by him.

“He wasn’t very affected.” She continued, barely mumbling the words. She didn’t want to have this conversation. They were supposed to pack up tonight. They had booked a plane for tomorrow night with a small stop in New Orleans of a couple of hours. It was the perfect time for them, getting to see Klaus’ city and meet up with their friends. Too bad Caroline and Nik only got to stay a few days. Truly sad.

“I don’t suppose he had any reason to be. It’s not like he ever loved her unlike…” he trailed off, unwilling to say it even now. Bonnie patted the seat next to her and he joined her on the couch. She looked up at him, her hazel-green orbs gazing back into ice-blue ones and gently guided his head to rest on her shoulder. He sighed and she wrapped an arm around him. Despite how much he disliked it when he was like this – and it was a rare occurrence thankfully – he did love her comforting presence. He maneuvered himself until his head rested on her lap and she was stroking his hair, her long fingers through the soft tresses of black. He closed his eyes as she turned the TV on and he recognized the voice of Dean Winchester even through the sleep haze. He grinned with his eyes still closed. Of course she would be watching her favorite show. And obviously he had gotten hooked on it since living with her. At least it was entertaining. Though those vampires sure were ugly, ugh, if he had had the misfortune of being like that he would’ve staked himself ages ago. He was … he …

Bonnie looked down at the man in her lap when the commercial break started and saw he was fast asleep, his features smoothed out, his mouth in a barely-there smile. Her heart sped up at the visage, he looked so carefree like this, so unlike the sarcastic, ex-vampire she knew during the day. She bent down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. She hadn’t even realized how time had flown by, it was already nighttime.

* * *

 

Caroline Forbes awoke with a start, her breath coming out in puffy gasps and her nightgown was drenched in sweat. She had dreamed of it again. She hazarded a glance at Klaus and sighed in relief at seeing him sleeping. She didn’t want to worry him further. It had been bad enough when she was out of it those months and he had had to take care of her. God! When did it end?! She didn’t want to remember that every night, not considering how long her life was. An eternity plagued with nightmares of painful throbbing between her legs and sharp bursts of agony along her thighs, of blinding despair and crushing hope. She couldn’t take it forever, it was too much, she would snap again and she couldn’t bear to subject her loved ones to that again. Once was bad enough. It had to stop.

Drawing deep breaths and hugging the blankets to her fast rising and falling chest, Caroline searched the room with her eyes. Maybe paranoia was settling in because she could swear she could feel Trotter’s smell around her, hear his breath and see the gleaming sharp claws that had tore into the flesh of her thighs. God, she was a basket-case! It had been months! Months since his death! So why couldn’t she move on already! _Seriously, Care! Snap out of it!_ Caroline massaged her forearms, both to warm herself up because she was feeling cold and feverish at the same time, and because she could feel his fingers digging into her skin and leaving bruises, though that was pathetic! Shaking her head, she fell back down onto the pillow, her blonde hair spread out around her. A strand of it fell on Nik’s face and it must have tickled him because he let out a gruff breath and turned on the other side. She stifled a giggle. That had been cute, his scrunching up his nose like he did.

She closed her eyes, but then quickly opened them again. She had seen a flash of twinkling brown eyes, Trotter’s eyes. Throwing a hand over her face, she groaned, and then looked over at her lover. _Still asleep, good. I don’t want to wake him up; he has enough on his plate. I wonder if Bon and Damon are coming soon? I should probably call them, I should call mom tomorrow too… Sleep Caroline! Come on, it’s not that difficult! You just close those eyes, ignore any creepy old men that can lick a vampire into becoming human and sleep. Maybe I should count sheep? Huh…? One sheep… two sheep… three – Ugh! This sucks! Just fucking sleep! Please…_ please _sleep…_

Tossing around in the bed, Caroline turned facing Niklaus’ back, watching the expanse of skin, muscle and bone as he lay there. Eyes heavy, she yawned, touching the warm flesh across from her and finally spooning him. She was blissfully asleep in the next few minutes.

* * *

 

Stefan was surprised by the crowd of people – vampires – gathered outside the airport when he, his brother and Bonnie Bennett landed in New Orleans. One would think some celebrity had arrived and they were the fans waiting. But it wasn't a celebrity, Stefan realized when he saw Caroline flung herself from the mass of people at his brother, Damon opening his arms wide and spun the young vampire around. Klaus followed after her, smiling when she let out a loud laugh, escorted by a dark skinned man. The duo stopped before Bonnie and him, Klaus greeting the witch with a hug that was friendlier than the green eyed vampire had expected from Niklaus Mikaelson and Bonnie Bennett. Then the Original introduced the other man as Marcel Gerard, his former ward. As far as Stefan could see, Marcel seemed similar to how Damon had been. He was charming, flirty and had a dangerous vibe about him. Stefan didn’t trust him, but it wasn’t up to him who they could trust. Klaus led them through the city, the mass of people starting a parade in their wake and more joining as they moved through the city. The atmosphere was light and filled with happiness. The younger Salvatore brother had forgotten what that felt like ever since Elena got sick.

“So… Care, how’s it been with Big Bad Wolf as your boy toy?” Stefan heard his brother say and he then heard him grunt in pain as – most certainly – either Bonnie or Caroline tried to kick him and succeeded. Damon whined after that, coughing a bit, and Stefan was struck dumb when he realized just how close they all were with each other. Beside Klaus and Caroline being nearly inseparable, Bonnie and Klaus had a sort of understanding and they spent the better part of the trip debating magic while Damon basically gossiped with Caroline about his relationship with Bonnie, argued about being… _locked up in a closet? What?!_ And talking about needing to get Liz a guy to date. Then there were the snarky, but well meant comments between Klaus and his brother, the two arguing like they’d been best friends for years, not enemies until about a year ago and Bonnie joking with Damon. Stefan was left somewhat on the sidelines, observing it all, seeing how his friends joked and discussed really personal things with someone he had thought of as an enemy, how his brother was more content that Stefan ever remembered him to be. Even before Katherine Damon had been burdened. Stefan wondered if he had ever truly known his brother at all because seeing him like this, surrounded by these three people, he could honestly say he didn’t know the answer to the question. And that, more than anything, saddened him. What kind of brother was he, if he couldn’t even have a comfortable time with his brother and friends? Had he really fallen so much?

Marcel left the foursome alone when they reached the mansion Caroline and the hybrid had been staying at. They weren’t going to be there long, they just needed to get the luggage and then they would be off. Marcel said his goodbyes and even gave Caroline a necklace spelled by a powerful witch from the French Quarter to protect the young vampire and Klaus got the coordinates to his mother’s last location. Klaus offered them some wine and while the two vampires left by Marcel took the bags to the car, the two couples and Stefan talked. It was then that Stefan found out that something else had been bothering Damon. Something from the day he and Elena had left, if what Klaus was saying was true. He strained to listened further but he could not.

“Shut up, Klaus!” Damon interrupted and the younger of the two brothers was left with unanswered questions. What more could have happened in this year? Katherine dying was surprising enough, now something about Damon? And what about Bonnie’s coma? What the hell was going on here? His thoughts were pushed aside soon though as his phone rang and he saw Elena’s caller ID. He answered perplexed. _She was awake._

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be putting up 2 chapters again since I keep breaking my promise to put new chapters regularly. Hope you enjoyed this.


	7. I... I'm so sorry...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elena is awake.

Stefan Salvatore walked the unnaturally quiet streets of New Orleans with an indescribable sense of fear and joy, the two powerful feelings mixing and contrasting and driving him insane. He couldn’t think, could not focus on what he should do or ought to do. All he knew was that he had to be alone for a bit, which is why he left in such a hurry from Klaus’ manor and why he was currently creeping himself out with scenarios of what this news could bring. He could lose his brother again, and he hasn’t even gotten him back yet, not truly. Damon was different than he had been a year ago and Stefan had barely scratched the surface of why that was.

The green eyed vampire continued walking, turning a new street corner every time he heard the unmistakable sound of parades and fanfare that was New Orleans’ evening. Klaus had been the best host – though Stefan had a feeling that was more to do with Caroline being there, then the hybrid himself – and frankly, Stefan had liked it there. Surrounded by people that were his friends, his brother had been nice, the atmosphere had been warm and welcoming and he had felt the happiest he had been in a while, and then Liz called. Then Elena spoke and she asked to come along and Liz agreed if only because she couldn’t help the young woman any further. Stefan was at a crossroads and he could only go one way, but wished to go the other. Elena changed everything. She always did that, she was special in that certain way that caused a ripple effect to start around her and it was the last thing he wanted now. He loved her though. _God, did he love her!_ But sometimes it was better for her to stay away. He could remember even now the feeling in his stomach when she came to him and said she had made a deal with Elijah. It had been a sucker punch to their plan and it had ultimately ruined everything because Elijah hadn’t been able to kill his brother. It turned out alright nevertheless, even better since Klaus dying meant them dying, but he hadn’t known that then. Elena coming to Amsterdam would be just like that, but on an emotional level.

What would Damon do? Or say? Or feel? Would it destroy what he and Bonnie had built between them? Would it… oh, he didn’t know what to do! What could he do? He couldn’t tell her not to come; she would feel betrayed and hurt. He could hear her voice, the happiness, the relief of being awake and alright for now, her joy and love when she said she could join them. He shook his head. He couldn’t think about this now, and he needed to head back soon. The plane was in half hour and he needed to tell the others about Elena.

He rushed to the manor and entered in a haze. He stopped short soon after though when he saw the couples dancing, some of the other vampires had arrived as well and they were mingling. He could recognize Marcel talking to a girl that looked about 17 years old. They were laughing and swaying to the upbeat rhythm of the song he hadn’t heard before. His eyes searched the dance floor and found Caroline and Klaus, the hybrid being surprisingly good at this kind of dancing despite his age. He resumed his search until his eyes landed on his brother who was dancing with the Bennett witch. The two were lost to the outside world, swaying slowly to a beat of their own. Stefan remembered when Caroline had told him that's how he and Elena danced. He smiled. Maybe it would be alright if his wife came. He watched as Bonnie smiled at his brother, her eyes shining in the low lights. He saw Damon stepping just a tiny bit closer and dipping her playfully. He noticed the two laughing, carefree and Caroline and Klaus drawing closer and joining in the fun. Stefan sighed when he realized the closeness between the four, clearer now than ever before. He had missed out on that.

Then just as he contemplated going there and telling them, he saw a flash of fear going through Caroline when Klaus lightly pulled her against him, and watched as Bonnie gathered the blonde into her arms and how Damon whispered – what he could only assumed were – soothing words into Caroline’s ear. Stefan noticed Klaus’ sadness and heartache and Damon’s worry and Bonnie’s protectiveness. And suddenly he felt like a cold bucket of ice had been thrown over him and inside him. There was just too much he still didn’t know. Too much they hadn’t told him. He didn’t even know what had put Bonnie in a coma, or who had killed Katherine or why was Liz so pained when she looked at Elena in Caroline’s bed. He was confused and there was nothing he could do about it.

“Stefan!” he heard Caroline yell and he turned to face them again. He walked to them and gave a questioning glance. “We need to go soon, do you have everything?” the blonde continues and Stefan has to struggle not to ask what had happened earlier. He manages somehow though.

“Yes, though… Sheriff Forbes called.” He hesitated. “Elena is awake.” He swallowed and noticed the tense look around him. Only Caroline seemed to be fine, but even her expression looked forced, like she had to put on a happy face. He didn’t like that. It made him equally tense.

“That’s good though, right?” she asks, faking a smile that is so good that Stefan doesn’t even realize it’s not true, that it hides a year's worth of blame.

“Yes, but she wants to join us.” He doesn’t miss the grimace on Damon’s face though. “I can’t stop her. I think she’s already boarding the plane. Apparently she had booked it when she found out where we went and that was a few hours ago. Liz said she tried to stop her, but couldn’t.”

“Well can’t you tell you _wife_ to stay home? She tends to mess things up.” Spat Damon who then grunts in pain when Bonnie jabs an elbow into his stomach. The grunt turns quickly into a cough which then becomes a coughing fit. The cold isn’t treating him well it would seem. Damon takes to glaring at the witch, holding onto his chest as the coughs get harder to withstand. He hates how easily he can get breathless. He hates being sick.

“I don’t control what she does Damon. She’s my wife not a pet I can command to _stay_!” Stefan glares at his brother who in turn steps closer, letting is hand fall to his side, ready to fight in spite of the fact that he’s only human. Stefan doesn’t seem to realize that either as he tightens his fists. Caroline pushes herself in-between them before things can escalate further. Luckily for both men.

“Guys! No need for a fight. It’s not going to help with anything. What’s done is done!” she tells them and nods with a smile at Klaus as he pulls an angered Damon away from the younger Salvatore. The blue-eyed man struggles for a while before he relaxes into the hybrids hold. He is too weak to even put up a fight. _God! I need some meds! This is pathetic!_

“Care is right. Damon! Stop it!” Bonnie pushes her boyfriend behind her when he tries to push Caroline out of the way, in one last try to quell his anger. “Elena will just do what Elena wants. We’ll deal. We have bigger problems.” That seems to bring the discussion at an end. Damon sighs and nods, taking Bonnie’s hand and pulling her towards the exit as Klaus tells them they have to go if they want to catch the plane. Stefan either doesn’t notice or he doesn’t want to notice the reproach in Bonnie’s words. Either way, he stays quiet on the road to the airport, his mind swirling with thoughts of being reunited with his lover. He smiles when he fingers his wedding band.

* * *

 

“Why does she have to come? I mean, it’s not as if she can help in anyway!” Damon complains to Caroline as soon as the plane sets off. Bonnie makes herself comfortable, leaning her head onto his shoulder and nuzzling her nose into the apex of his neck and shoulder, reminding the former vampire of a little bird. The woman then takes Damon’s arm into her own and closes her eyes, exhaling as if there is a bone-deep tiredness that plagues her. Maybe there is. Damon just smiles and kisses the top of her head and lets her use him as a human pillow.

“Well, we don’t have much choice, now, do we?” Caroline whispers for Bonnie’s benefit and stretches her arms above her head. She slumps afterward, her right hand finding Klaus’ who was sitting on the seat opposite to them, next to Stefan and an old lady that just took out her knitting set. Entwining their fingers with a small quirk of her lips, Caroline winks at her lover, squeezing and sending a questioning look at Stefan. It would be weird if he could hear them, but thankfully Klaus shakes his head. Stefan is out cold, and even if he were awake, the earplugs are turned to max so he wouldn't be able to hear anything.

“But we should! _They_ left us!” Damon answers, his whispers loud enough to cause Bonnie to nudge his hand. He apologizes and stares blatantly at Caroline, knowing she would understand his question. His throat irritates him from that whisper anyway so he should shut up for a bit. Slowly searching through Bonnie’s handbag, the man unearths what he’s been looking for. He almost sighs in relief when the cough syrup passes his throat, alleviating the scratchiness he feels.

“We’ll see. Maybe we can get her to stay in the hotel?” but even as she says this, Caroline knows it’s a lie. Elena wouldn't do it, not for anything. The brunette has always been too stubborn for her own good and it’s beginning to grate on Caroline’s nerves. If only Saintly Good _Perfect_ Elena would listen to someone, then perhaps they could win this. Damon scoffs – with good reason – and the blonde lets out an undignified snort. The two friends have to struggle to keep the laughter at bay. Bonnie just fell asleep.

A squeeze at her hand has her turning to Klaus whose eyes are asking her if she is alright, if the episode from Marcel’s party has truly passed. She smiles, reassuring and loving. It had, she was fine. She just couldn't risk sleeping, not with the nightmares threatening to swallow her. They let go when the stewardess comes that way and she orders a coffee. The flight is uneventful, but the knowledge of why they are going to Amsterdam burns inside their minds. Bonnie sleeps through most of the flight, even when Damon and Caroline decide it would be a good idea to watch a movie – a horror one, which had Care jumping and screaming every so often and Damon laughing his ass off at her, the two commenting whenever something is found as hilariously incorrect. Klaus is busy drawing, something new that Caroline can guess is her based on how often he turns to stare at them, and Stefan … Stefan listen to music and talks to Elena who apparently had only half an hour before she reached the airport.

Eventually Bonnie is awake and Caroline loses her partner in crime as he and the witch begin engaging in some very sweet and out of character actions – from Caroline’s point of view anyway, seeing as she had never seen Damon in love before or Bonnie this open. She likes it though, despite the boredom that settles over her because of it. She even feels proud because she knows it was partly due to her meddling that it is currently happening. She gives Klaus a smug look, one that says “I told you so” and blows him a kiss. When they land, the lightness fades faster than anybody could expect, and Caroline has to fight off the feeling that she should kiss Nik one last time, because, really, that's ridiculous.

Damon is the first one out of the plane, his nose stuffy and his head pounding, but none of it reflects on the outside as he puts on his sunglasses, looking every bit a rock star he seems to think he is. Caroline is next, her palm connecting with his hair as she slaps him upside the head. Bonnie is last letting Stefan follow Klaus so they can get their baggage. She slips on her own sunglasses when the sun threatens to blind her with its brightness.

“Stefan!” they hear as they exit the airport and Damon’s hand tightens around Bonnie’s and Caroline gasps into the close-mouthed kiss she was giving Klaus. _Elena_ is then lunging herself at her husband, her arms thrown around Stefan’s neck and her lips merging with his like they haven’t seen each other in ages – which was almost true, but _come on! –_ and the other four stop walking altogether. When the couple finally disentangles, it’s as if the others are invisible as Elena tugs Stefan to a taxi without a second thought.

“What?! No ‘Hello’ for us?!” Damon grounds out unable to stop himself and the brunette is frozen on the spot. Bonnie feels the man’s hand tremble with either hurt or anger, she isn’t sure, and caresses his knuckles. Caroline seems to mirror Damon’s sentiments though as she steps next to the former vampire and speaks.

“Yeah! A whole year and not even a look? Weren’t we supposed to be friends _forever_?!” Caroline basically spats out the words, feeling them dipped into poison as she speaks and sees Elena flinch. She is not shaking though, Caroline is unnaturally still beside Damon, barely breathing even. Elena blinks and her eyes well up in tears and her bottom lip quivers oh-so-softly that Bonnie almost – _almost –_ gives her an aneurism. “ _Here come the waterworks!”_ The two women who have known Elena their whole lives think simultaneously.

“I’m so sorry.” Elena says, tears streaming down her face, and she _looks_ sorry, truly remorseful, but it doesn’t change anything, not really, not when she got to spend a near full year in happiness and calm. Not when they had to deal with everything else, with creatures created by magic and coma and rape and heartache. Not now. “ _How did that song go?”_ Caroline wonders. “ _Too little too late? Yeah, It’s too fucking little too late!”_ she thinks, embracing her inner Damon. She says nothing though, nothing out loud, because she knows better, because _she_ is better than that _._

“I’m so sorry” the woman repeats, Stefan’s arms around her waist, her own hands over his, their wedding bands clearly visible, and that is what doesn’t allow Caroline to say the words, to accept the apology, because despite the tears, Elena is happy, Elena has what she has always wanted and they just ache. _They_ are broken, shattered, and shards are missing so they can never be put together again. So Caroline just walks past Elena and Stefan, tugging Nik behind her and seeing Bonnie comforting Damon with a soft look, a gentle touch until they move forward as well, ignoring the quiet sobbing of Elena Gilbert. Finally putting themselves first.

* * *

 

_It's just too little too late…_

_A little too wrong_

_And I can't wait_

_You know all the right words to say_

_You know it's just too little too late_

[ _\- Jojo “Too little too late” -_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8LIRtPnuA8)


	8. Night in ...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie and Damon try to have a talk with Stefan and Elena. Klaus and Caroline check the house they'll be staying in and encounter an unexpected surprise. Stefan realizes there is more to the situation than he knows.

Bonnie Bennett. The teenager – once, a long time ago. The woman – now, having overcome the heartache. The selfless, the _good_ – always, for as long as she lived. The witch – powerful, in control. Bonnie was all of these and so much more – _so much less –_ to so many people. And now she was a woman in love. Funny how life worked sometimes.

She was the witch who fell for a vampire – a walking contradiction – but she was happy. She had once wondered if perhaps, she was cursed with an abnormal life, but that had been _before_ – back when the teenager still existed and the witch was weak and easily manipulated. “ _No more_ ” she had sworn to herself when Elena had skipped town with Stefan and left the rest of them to fend for themselves. Then she swore again when Damon ended up paralyzed and Ric had been forced to leave because of whatever it was Esther had done to him to turn him vampire-killer crazy. And one final time she swore when she awoke from her come to the face of Niklaus Mikaelson concerned and comforting. She had kept all of those promises to herself, so she was ready for another one. _I will not put myself second to Elena Gilbert again_.

Squeezing Damon’s hand in hers as he was struck by a sudden and violent bout of coughing, his body lurching in his seat, his breath wheezing and his other hand clutching at his chest and neck to stop the pain, Bonnie sighed and did what she had told him she would not do, she used her magic to ease his discomfort. They were inside their hotel room alone with the married couple, waiting for either Klaus or Care to call and tell them whether they were to stay the night here or go to the mansion. Rubbing her boyfriend's – who could have seen this coming? – back in a circular motion, she whispered to him to breathe slowly when the coughs still would not stop. She ignored the sharp gazes of the two other people in front of her to the best of her ability.

“I’m fine now.” He eventually rasped, a grimace-turned-smile marring his lips. Shaking her head at the stubbornness of the man she was quickly coming to love, Bonnie sighed and addressed the elephant in the room. Elena has been fidgeting ever since they’d separated from Klaus, her chocolate brown eyes shining with tears and guilt since the aftermath of Caroline’s words before they took the taxi to the hotel.

“Elena…” the witch began, hesitated and continued. “There is nothing to be afraid of. Klaus already assured us that his siblings won’t be around much. Elijah is out of the country. Rebekah has her apartment in the center of the city and Finn bought a house a town over.” She explained to the worried doppelganger. Elena stopped her pacing and sat beside Stefan on the bed. The other vampire took her hand, interlacing their fingers and kissed her on the lips with a reassuring smile. Bonnie imagined Damon making gagging faces behind her, but she didn’t dare look for fear of bursting out laughing. Maybe the long trip was taking its hold on her, she felt hazy and unnaturally happy. _Delirious,_ the word came to her.

Bonnie didn’t even realize when she started swaying, but Damon saw it almost immediately and was there to steady her and guide her to the large loveseat he’d been sitting on. He carefully laid her down, tucking her head onto a pillow, all the while ignoring the pestering sounds coming from the other two inhabitants of _his and Bonnie’s_ bedroom.

“You alright, witch-y?”

“Huh?” she seemed out of it and that got his heart pounding in his ears – or maybe that was the cold, he was feeling a bit hot too – and his worry skyrocketed. “’m fine” she mumbled next.

“Bonnie?” Damon heard Elena whine from her unchanged spot on his bed and turned with a glare.

“She’s fine. I’ve got it. You can go.” He spat out, seeing – and taking pleasure in – Elena’s flinch. Stefan rose before his _wife_ and glared right back at his brother. He appeared to be confused as to why the former vampire was acting so horribly with the young woman. Damon couldn’t find the will to explain just how much of his life has been screwed up by their leaving. It was too much for just having been reunited.

“Yeah… I think you should go, I’m not so good actually” Bonnie barely whispered, but despite Damon’s confusion, the other two heard her well enough. Stefan held his hand out to Elena who took it and they walked out of the room, heading for their own. Damon was no doubt going to make them feel unwelcomed anyway and there was no reason for which they should take his insults. They hadn’t done anything that bad – they didn’t know anything that bad that had happened, they couldn’t know, _they hadn’t been there_.

Bonnie hadn’t felt as bad as she made it seem to the married couple, but the woman was by no means in the best condition so it was up to Damon to make sure she would be fine. He took her into his arms, one hand beneath her knees and the other holding her back to his chest, and moved her to their bed. He made sure that her head was comfortably seated onto a multitude of pillows and she was tucked in warm, before he ever stood up to take his coughing syrup and check his temperature. When he noticed how high it was though, he quickly searched through Bonnie’s ‘medic kit’ – a bag where she had stored all she had deemed necessary regarding their health – and found a bottle of pills which said they were against fever. He took two – as per instructed on the prescription – and joined the witch on the bed. The last thing he remembered before he fell asleep was the steady rhythm of Bonnie’s heartbeat in his ear and wondered how had he ended up so close to her chest to hear it.

* * *

 

Caroline Forbes already missed Marcel. The blonde vampire had realized the moment she had hugged the man goodbye that she was going to miss him, but she had honestly not thought it would be this much. Although they had met only a mere few days before, the two vampires had bonded over their mutual love for Klaus – for her as a lover, for Marcel as a father – and their adoration of music. She had found in Marcel what could easily become another best friend if given time and so when they had hugged and said goodbye in New Orleans she had felt it – the sinking in her stomach that came with leaving a friend behind. But there was no need to despair, once this was finished, Klaus had promised that they could return. She smiled. She would be waiting for that moment. New Orleans was truly a marvel to behold.

“Love, I’ll check on Kol, you call the others and tell them to come by tomorrow. We need to clean this place up.”

Klaus said from his spot perched on one of the high chairs overlooking the dining room. His blue eyes scanned the broken chairs and shards of glass scattered around the room, taking in the red dry blood on the walls and flooring. Caroline looked about herself as well, grimacing at the devastation. She recognized the smell of werewolves so it was clear who had broken into their house. But what would werewolves be looking for?

“Alright.” She smiled, tip-toed her way around the carnage – why kill all their staff? – and kissed her lover on her way outside. She sent Damon a text though, instead of calling. It was late. Bonnie was probably in the bathroom getting ready for sleep and Damon was probably either asleep or in bed. Then she searched through her contacts and found Stefan’s new phone number. She took a deep, steadying breath before she hit the dial button.

“Hello?” came a familiar, _female_ voice and Caroline scowled. Elena Gilbert. There had been a time when the blonde vampire had loved the other woman like her own sister, but Elena had squandered that right. Sisters weren’t supposed to skip town without a word and then ditch their phones so they couldn’t be reached. It just wasn’t done.

“Hey” she mumbled, keeping a firm hold on her voice. She wasn’t sure how Damon hadn’t exploded, but if she had to guess she’d say it was because of the cold. It made him … contained. “Elena, so… uhm, you’re staying there until tomorrow at least. There are some stuff Nik needs to take care of first.” She managed to get out, sounding like her old, friendly self. Good, she still had it. Drama courses for college had been useful after all. She should at least pretend if she couldn’t forgive the other woman, right? God! She’s been spending too much time with Damon, this would’ve been his idea had he been here.

“Okay. Care…” a flinch from the blonde, but luckily the brunette wasn’t there. “I… I’m sorry.”

Caroline sighed. She had known this would happen.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” And she ended the call without another word. She was tired. Mentally exhausted and emotionally crippled from last night’s nightmare-memory. She could still see Trotter’s eyes if she closed her own. She felt razor-sharp claws ripping through the skin of her thighs, digging deep into flesh and letting the blood run free down her legs. Sticky, sweet , warm liquid pooling beneath her coated the ground as her scream rebounded through the trees. She remembered not being able to heal and having to stay awake for what had happened next, she had had to remain conscious because of Trotter’s spell, unmoving, while he tore her pants off, while he ripped her panties and plunged into her hard enough to _burn_. She hadn’t even been able to scream before he pulled out only to push back inside harder. Tears streamed down her face now as she shook herself out of the memory, Nik didn’t need to know she kept seeing it, _feeling_ it. Why now though? The question was driving her insane.

“Caroline?” she heard him, a wave of nausea hitting her as she realized she’d remembered being raped while the man she loved, who’d done everything he could to return her to some semblance of normality, had been waiting inside. God, she was fucking crazy! And she couldn’t even talk to anyone about it, not really. Nik was out of the question for sure. Bonnie would have been the right choice but the witch wouldn’t have been able to just listen to her, she would want to hold her and cry with her. Caroline could not allow herself to do that. She wasn’t sure why, but she feared it was her control issues merging with the insane thought of letting _him_ win if she showed weakness. Elena would have been a choice once, but no longer. Stefan might have reached that point, she mused – they had been great friends before he’d left. Not anymore. Marcel… ha! Marcel didn’t even truly know her yet. That left Damon.

Damon was both the best and worst choice for her. On one hand he had enough self awareness to know not to coddle her, but at the same time he could act too callous. He’d also used her in the past, made her feel small, weak and then tossed her aside without a second thought. Thrown out like an object, that’s what he had done. Damon had also allowed her to see him at _his_ worst, see him struggling against the tears, watching as he fell because he was too weak himself. He had let her help, put his trust in her, treated her like something precious. Damon was both the cruelest person she had met – Klaus notwithstanding – and the most wonderful one.

“Nik? Think we could clean this up by tomorrow? I miss our friends.” She whispered, fighting back the heartache that threatened to chock her up, wiping the tears away.

“Of course love.” He mumbled in her hair, having come behind her during the time she had been lost in her thoughts, winding his arms around her waist and kissing her shoulder. She smiled. She was blessed to have this many people that loved her. Lastly, Caroline thought of her mother back home. The sheriff keeping the town safe, that’s who her mother was. Her hero. She called Liz later that night and talked for over an hour.

* * *

 

Stefan did not go to sleep until around four in the morning, long after Elena’s breath had evened out. He wasn’t sure if it was the fact that he feared his wife would not wake up again, or because his brother was in the other room, angrier than Stefan had ever seen him. Whichever it was, it had kept him up all night, along with loud thoughts of Bonnie’s coma and Katherine’s death. With Damon’s anger and Caroline’s terror from the night before. He was missing facts. He didn’t know what had happened to his brother to make him human. Damon snide joke about _licking_ had him annoyed. Did the man really think he was an idiot? Stefan was sure the sentence had been carefully constructed to irritate him the most with one of Damon’s stupid fantasy answers. Why couldn’t his brother ever tell him the truth?

Then there was Caroline. From what Stefan remembered, Caroline had been dating Tyler, and while Klaus had set his sight on her, the blonde had held steady. Now they were happily attached at the hip it seemed. Also, there was little the former cheerleader feared nowadays. Since becoming a vampire, Caroline had tackled any and every issue with very little fear, so what had happened to her to made her so afraid?

Stefan stiffened when he felt Elena shift in her sleep. He didn’t want to wake her up. He let out a breath when he saw she had only turned on her other side with an exhale and let his mind wonder. What could it be? Could he ask anybody? Even if he did, would they answer?

Maybe if he asked Damon… But no, he could not do even that. Damon was angry and when Damon got angry one did not try to reason with him if one wanted to live. Damon was also human though, his mind rationalized. That changed variables slightly. Maybe he should ask Damon, but only when they were alone. Caroline was another problem altogether, because if he hadn’t left, then he could have just gone to her about it, but now he couldn’t. Would she tell him? If they were alone? Would he be able to really get the time to speak to both his brother and Caroline, alone, without having to worry about being attacked? Should he even try? He should, he decided just before he fell asleep, he would try tomorrow. He would let Elena talk to Bonnie and he would talk to his brother, then when Caroline came to get them and they settled inside Klaus’ mansion, then he would talk to her as well. It was a good plan, he reasoned, wrapping his arm around Elena and pulling her to his chest. He worried that if she wasn’t near him she would be gone once more, even if that was ridiculous. Elena was safe, for now, and with the help of the others, Stefan could make sure she remained that way. He just needed their trust and the best way to get that back was to get to know them once more. They used to know each other very well, they can’t have changed that much. But even as that thought floated through his mind he knew – _he knew –_ that he was wrong. He had seen the changes in everybody.

“Oh, what are we going to do?” he whispered in the silent night, having only the wind as his answer, the wind and his own slowly decimating conscious. There was nothing left to help him, to guide him. He was alone tonight, even with his beloved next to him. He had never thought he could feel so alone, while surrounded by people. How wrong he had been. Was this what his brother had felt whenever their father disregarded him? If it was, then he had been a truly horrible brother in his own right, without the need for murder to obtain such status.

 


	9. Settling in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caroline cleans up. Stefan gets some answers. Elena has an unexpected surprise. Damon offers some advice. Bonnie tries to keep the peace.

 

The house had been prepared. Caroline had taken special care in cleaning every bit of debris left, sweeping the glass shards, gathering the broken furniture, dusting and washing. She had been at it the whole morning, having been awakened by Klaus leaving at around 6. She had been surprised to see that the hybrid had already called a cleaning service so she had less to clean than she had thought. Caroline could not, however, step back and let them do it without helping, not because she didn’t believe they were good enough, but because she had to keep herself occupied. Klaus had gone out to track the werewolves, she had been lucky to have been listened to the previous night when she told him to postpone the search.

“Ma’am? This is everything. We will be leaving now. Have a good day.” She heard one of the cleaning crew say and she nodded her assent, smiling brightly towards them. A sigh escaped her when the truck finally exited the driveway and, wiping her hands on her jeans, already pretty dirty, Caroline took a look around herself. There was nothing left of the attack, save for the missing furniture. She had planned to get some, but Nik said that he would talk to someone to bring it over. This left Caroline in a predicament. She only had to change, shower and then leave to get the others, but this seemed as a poor idea right now. While she missed Bonnie and Damon, she was not looking forward to living in the same house with the other two. She no longer trusted them.

“Oh, now what?” she wondered aloud, looking towards the ceiling and closing her eyes, head tilted back. Cleaning had exhausted her, but it had also kept her from thinking about what plagued her mind. It had always been her refuge. 

“Well, darling, you could offer me something to drink.” 

Caroline whirled around so fast she wasn’t sure how she hadn’t gotten a backlash, coming face to face with Kol Mikaelson. His brown hair was styled, unlike the last time she had seen him, his chocolate eyes twinkling with mischief as per usual and he was leaning with a devil may care attitude against the doorway leading towards the front yard. Her brows furled in confusion as she took in his smirking face and relaxed posture.

“Kol?”

“Yes. And you’re Caroline, right? Nik’s new paramour?” the thick accented voice answered, a wide, shark-like smile on the face of the young man pushing off the door frame and stepping into the dining room. Caroline nodded.

“Yeah… What are you… I…” she stuttered. She hadn’t expected the most impulsive Mikaelson sibling to show up, and she wasn’t prepared for him to act quite so familiar with someone he had never – or maybe once, she couldn't really remember – met, regardless of who she was to his brother. 

“Nik asked me yesterday to meet him here to discuss Mother. No offense, darling, but where is _he_?”

“He is looking for the werewolves that attacked last night.” Caroline was surprised by her own ability to go along with the conversation. She had never truly spoken to the youngest brother save for that night in the Grill, when they had been trying to help Esther. She had heard the man when she was walking towards them, but she hadn’t had any reason to say much to him then, despite the inner anger of being viewed as only a piece of meat by him – she couldn’t blame him though, she had dressed for a certain purpose then. 

“Then tell him to call when he gets back.” Apparently the drink had been only a rouse since in seconds the man was gone, an open door left in his wake. Caroline let a squeak of shock as she fell onto the chair nearest to her. That had been random. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, the blonde vampire took out her phone and called Bonnie. She still had to get the others here today; she just hoped she wouldn’t be receiving many more surprises like these. Her heart couldn’t take it.

* * *

 

Damon woke up with a blinding headache and a sore throat to end all sore throats. His head pounded and his nose felt stuffed, the inside of his throat hurt every time he swallowed and his eyes were irritated. On top of it all, Bonnie was nowhere to be seen, but Stefan was on the couch, checking his phone. Groaning, the elder Salvatore rose and swayed his way to the bathroom, smacking into the door frame on his way. Swearing, he shut the door and leaned against the sink, head bowed. _Way to start a day, Damon! Fucking perfect!_

“Hey, Damon?” he heard his brother’s voice through the door a while later while he was rinsing his teeth.

“Whut?” he mumbled, but it came out garbled and strange. 

“I … we need to talk.”

Spitting out the last bit of toothpaste, Damon let himself sigh. At least his headache had gone down and his throat hurt less. Knowing there was no way he could possibly avoid this, seeing as Bonnie was out getting breakfast and Elena was still sleeping – facts he had discovered from the man outside – the former vampire steeled himself for the no doubt aggravating conversation to come. He opened the door and made his way to Stefan, sitting down onto the loveseat he had occupied the previous night. The look on his face must have shown something, because Stefan put on his best defensive look ever.

“What is it?” 

“What happened to Katherine?” Stefan began. He had thought how to best approach his brother and this had been the best he had come up with. He couldn’t ask about Caroline, Damon wouldn’t tell him anything considering Bonnie hadn’t either. He definitely could not ask about Damon himself since that would just end in another fight and Bonnie … he could just ask Bonnie herself. So Katherine it was.

“What?!” Damon exclaimed, his eyes widening.

“How… how did she die? Bonnie said you found her. And I was wondering who could have done it. If Katherine was anything, she was a survivor.” 

Damon was shocked. His mouth was open, lips parted as if ready to start spewing words, but no sound was coming out. His blue eyes were unfocused, as if he was trapped inside a memory playing in front of him. Silence reigned for a few minutes and Stefan wondered if perhaps he had made the wrong decision. He remembered Bonnie telling him about Damon, about how devastated he had been when they had buried Katherine, but he hadn’t truly believed it. His brother had hated Katherine after he had found out she had lied about the tomb, so much so that Stefan had assumed that Bonnie had been exaggerating. She hadn’t been. Damon looked as if his whole world had crashed before his very eyes. Stefan had been to war – the sounds of bombs dropping off and screams still echoing in his ears all these years later – and he could swear that he had only ever seen that look on the soldiers that had seen their whole garrison die only for them to survive. He had never thought of seeing that look on Damon’s face, but there it was.

“Damon?” he hesitated, but Damon’s eyes snapped towards him, waiting. “You don’t have to tell me. I… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked …” 

“No, you shouldn’t have.” Damon spat, getting up and rushing to the window, opening it and just standing in front of it, breathing in as if he had been suffocating seconds prior. “Ask about something else. She’s dead, leave it at that. Doesn’t matter how.”

“Who… what did it?”

A deep breath and a clench of Damon’s jaw. “Name’s Trotter. The bastard is also the one who…” he stopped, seemed to think of something, changed his mind and then continued. “… who turned me human.”

Stefan stood up as well, tearing a hand through his hair, tousling it. “About that. How did that happen? Seriously this time. No more lies about licking, Damon.” At least it was a bit of information, Stefan reasoned to himself. He would find something either way.

“I –“ Damon stopped and turned towards the other man with a glower. “It was the truth Stefan!” the man raised his voice in frustration. “You wanna know something? Fine! I’ll tell you!” Damon took a deep breath and then walked back and sat down, waiting until Stefan did too.

“Trotter is the one who killed Katherine, but we didn’t know that until we met him. Blondie and I were looking for a way to wake Bonnie up and we got a lead about this small town. It sounded promising, but I wasn’t getting my hopes up since there had been enough false ones. It was January, it had been snowing for a few days and we were cold. When we got there we both realized something wasn’t right, but we still decided to stay. We got a room in their only motel which was run by a man called Mark Trotter. He was old and seemed nice enough at first, but then we both got this weird feeling that he wasn’t right, much like the town. The next day we searched through town and found a black patch of snow near the outskirts. When Caroline touched it she collapsed and I took her back to our room. I was trying to wake her up when Trotter came in and turned into this… this creature. Stefan, I've never seen anything like that ever in my existence! We fought a bit, Blondie woke up and we decided to jump out of the window. She got out first and when I was about to do it, Trotter’s tongue licked my cheek and a few hour later I was human. Bonnie was also awake.” Damon finishes, all the fight gone from his voice. Stefan realizes there is more to it than that, but he wasn’t about to ask now. 

“So how did you figure out it was him that killed Katherine?”

“It wasn’t the only thing he did and second of all, because he was created by Esther and Klaus found out about that.” 

Stefan nodded, but didn’t push for more. He was curious what the other thing was that Trotter did, but he had already pushed too much, if the look of irritation on Damon’s face was anything to go by. There was also the sound of heels hitting the floor outside and the turn of a key as Bonnie and Elena entered the room which caused him to cease his questions. He wondered if Elena had found out anything about Bonnie’s coma while they were out so he sent a questioning look toward his wife. She nodded grimly, but didn’t speak. They could talk later, Stefan thought as he watched Bonnie and Damon eat.

* * *

 

Klaus Mikaelson was good at tracking. It had been a skill he had had to learn as a child. He remembered Elijah teaching him, his calm voice in his mind as he went over the details. Granted, Elijah was talking about animals, but humans and, more specifically, werewolves, are still animals, right? Klaus thinks so.

The hybrid had started the day well enough. Caroline had been wrapped around him in the morning, smiling in her sleep. She hadn’t woken up that night from a nightmare. Yes, he did know about them, despite the blonde hiding their presence away. He also figured out what she had been thinking of earlier the previous night that got her crying. He wasn’t stupid, in fact, he was quite intelligent, especially in regards to reading a person. It was another skill he had learned from Elijah, but implemented differently. Caroline had nightmares, but they had dwindled over the months since killing Trotter so he had been surprised and quite worried when she woke up so violently in New Orleans. He had kept quiet only because she didn’t seem to want him to know about them.

He stops and smiles. He has found the wolves, gathered in a pack not far away. He checks for other signs of life, but beside a few animals, there are none. Perfect. Grinning, he takes off. Now onto interrogation, this he has learned by himself and he is nigh on flawless at it.

* * *

 

_It hurts, my body, my mind. They all ache inside and outside and all around as if I am drenched in acid and I can’t rise from it. I want to scream, but all I can do is as he commands me. He owns me after all, he, a mere_ human _, thinking he can control me. As the words expel themselves from my lips, I feel his thoughts. I hear them as one would a song. He is getting ahead of himself, he is beginning to think he is one of_ us _. Oh, how wrong he is, how very wrong. As he screams in my pain, I laugh. But my enjoyment is short lived because once the ritual is over his phone calls. A woman named Esther wants to help us if I agree to help her destroy her children. I disapprove of it, but_ he  _doesn’t. The woman knows of doppelgangers and so he will help and thus_ I  _am forced to help. I make a vow to my mother that I will have my vengeance against the vampires and pray to the Goddess for strength._

Elena wakes up sweating, panting for breath as the dream pulses through her mind. She doesn’t know who the woman was, but she was working with Esther and she had cursed Elena. She remembered that much from the dream, despite it slowly starting to fade away. Esther was working with a voodoo priestess from New Orleans. Elena had to tell Bonnie this which is why she finds herself a few hours later, walking the busy streets of Amsterdam with her old best friend – she refuses to call her _former_ – and trying to find out how Bonnie had fallen into a coma about half a year ago. What she finds out is something which shocks her, because she _doesn’t_ find out how Bonnie fell into a coma.

“Why can’t you tell me? What happened?”

“Elena…” Bonnie sighs, holding onto the food they’d bought earlier. “It’s something… I hit my head, alright, but there is more to it than that and I can’t tell you. Please, don’t ask me about it.” And Elena agrees, knowing, even now, that if Bonnie doesn’t want to do something, then there is no way she is going to do it. Elena derails the conversation by bring up her dream which wasn’t really a dream according to the other woman. It was a vision of the past. Who knew she would be having those?

* * *

Caroline doesn’t want to do it, but as soon as she is alone in the room with the former vampire, she knows there is no way she can’t tell him. She needs to. So steeling herself she opens her mouth.

“You’ve been having nightmares again.” Damon interrupts, not turning from where he is packing his clothes. Caroline hums defeated. She should have known he would pick up on it. He has gotten good at reading her feelings when she doesn’t want him to. _Guess it come with the territory_ , she thinks not unkindly. 

“Yeah. And I have no idea why! It’s been months Damon!” she bursts out, taking to pacing around the room, behind the man. “I haven’t had one since a month after Trotter died and now they come back?! What the hell?!” she continues her tirade, thankful that Damon remains quiet. “It scares me, you now? I mean, what if it’s gonna continue like this. A few months of peace and quiet and then _bam!_ Here come the horrors again! I can’t live like this, Damon.” 

“They’ll pass, Blondie.” He mutters, but she doesn’t believe it and tells him so. What does he know any way?

“I do know! I think you remember the beginning of this friendship Care.” He says and she has to bite her lip. She does remember. How could she ever forget that? She feels guilty, she shouldn’t have said it. Of course he knows what he is talking about, she isn’t the only one who had to deal with a trauma this past year. “It only came back because we’re this close to Esther and you know she was the one controlling Trotter. They’ll pass. I swear, Caroline.” And the combination of his solemn eyes and use of her name brings tears to her eyes. She is thankful to have Damon Salvatore as a friend, and anyone saying otherwise is a moron, she decides then, even as the memories of her rape sometimes muddle with those of him compelling her, in her darkest nightmares. She shudders, closes her eyes and inhales deeply, pushing the abuse away. He had apologized so many times since she saved him that morning, but somehow they never quite faded away yet. She forgives him every time though and thus far she hasn’t been disappointed. 

“Okay. Now let’s get you to that mansion!” and with her blonde hair flipping suddenly as she turns, Caroline is ready to face Esther. Damon smiles even when she screams at him to move faster, she had never really used her inside voice with her friends anyways. Before long they are driving to Klaus’ house. The room assigning is done away with within moments of them arriving. It’s really easy, each couple gets their own room, and they agree to meet back inside the newly refurbished – though the four new guests don’t know that yet – dining room for a few drinks. Settling in the mansion is surprisingly easy for all parties involved and it’s a relief to Caroline. Maybe this way she can learn to forgive Elena in time. They will live forever so it’s only right, she ponders, despite the stab of doubt she feels low in her stomach at the thought. The rest of the afternoon passes quickly and with a lightness Caroline could have never guessed still existed between the five of them so when Klaus comes home bloodied and collapses into her arms, the vampire thinks she shouldn’t have been surprised. But she was, because suddenly there is a new problem on their hands. One, they hadn’t even considered even. Werewolves.

 


	10. Peace ...?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mystic Falls. Bonding in the Mikaelson Mansion. Klaus returning. What could go wrong?

Liz Forbes awoke that morning to sunshine and a plummeting feeling of lonesomeness squeezing at her heart and spilling into her lungs. Blinking, the Sheriff of Mystic Falls rubs her eyes of sleep and takes a few minutes to come to terms with her daughter’s absence of three days. She had, of course, talked to Caroline since then, and had, certainly, not been lonely until now since she’d at least had Damon and Bonnie to keep her afloat. Even Stefan and Elena had helped. However today her heart felt heavy and her head stuffed with cotton. She cursed the sun as it burned her eyes.

Hours, and several cups of dark – wonderfully waking – coffee, later, Liz is sitting at her desk, ready for work, a litany of papers scattered across the wooden surface. Her previous state of unease seemed to have dulled a bit, but a headache is making its presence known when she recognizes Carol Lockwood in the door way as the mayor closes it behind her.

“Liz, I’ve had a very interesting discussion with Alaric Saltzman, our missing history teacher.” Though apparently calm as she has always been, Carol was shaken. Liz looked at her old friend, feeling dread creep its way into her heart. She remembered why and when Ric had left – the curse Esther had put on the man, the madness slowly taking him over and his desperation to protect those he cared for. Liz, having had a much more abrupt meeting with the supernatural problems of Mystic Falls, can understand Carol’s obvious fear and uncertainty, but her daughter is away and Tyler has been in Florida since the night he and Caroline broke up – _the night Caroline came h_ _o_ _m_ _e_ _bleeding and crying and broken and “_ _mumithurtssomuch!Ithurtspleasepleasestopit!”_. Liz takes a shuddering breath and pushes the thoughts away. She doesn’t have time to worry about what has happened, not now when a vampire hunter is back in town with secrets about all of them. She had liked Ric, she had respected him and gotten along with him, if only because they were both Damon’s friends if nothing else, but _this_ was not Ric. This was a puppet of Esther’s and she had to be careful. She missed the days when her worst worry was whether Vicki Donovan was drunk that day or not.

“What did he say Carol?”

“He threatened to tell the Council everything. He said that if we don’t tell him where Klaus is, he will destroy us. He said he has Matt, Liz.” All this was spoken quickly and emphatically, breath drawn in quickly and eyes crazed with desperation. Carol was more than shaken, she was terrified. She was also not saying everything the sheriff needed to know though, but that was only because she didn’t know what was important in this case. Liz’s heart constricted at the thought of Matt – poor Matt who’s been through so much more than he should’ve, than he deserved – being hurt and worry momentarily overtakes her. A deep inhale had her mind clearing and the remembrance of the past year steels her for the fight that is no doubt coming. At least Caroline isn’t here, not that she’s safe where she is, but at least she isn’t alone. She is protected better than she could be here – and doesn’t that hurt like a bitch; it’s her job to take care of her little girl, but she _can’t_ and that stabs at her heart.

“Carol, did he say where he was keeping Matt or how to contact him?”

“I- I don’t kno- I ... yes, yes he said-“

* * *

 

He was walking down the street, the spring heat beating down on him, cooled only by occasional breeze. His eyes were scanning the side-walk, tracing the face and hearing the voices, the bustling of human life so loud even so early in the morning. He smiles, but it is crooked, forced in a way that looks painful. Then, he sees _her_ and his blood boils and pounds in his ear, his vision blurring and his body sways. _The_ _doppelgänger._

He scowls, clutching his side as his wound throbs even after all these years. He remembers her, the name of Katherine then, then he remembers Amara – however briefly that might have been, and he almost attacks right in the middle of the street. Amara had started it, her soft voice, her doe eyes, her teasing smiles, before she broke his heart and slashed his side for a spell that killed her. He had mourned despite it all, he had loved her so when along came Katherine his hope had been renewed. But Katherine hadn’t wanted him, she had smiled and teased and she had the same brown eyes and curled hair, but they were hardened and cruel. He was attracted to her so he had tried to make her understand how much he loved her. She had appeared bored, so stone-cold in her affection, until, that is, that day. That day he had seen her, breath stuttering and body writhing, moans filing the air. He had been there of course, he had had to see her. She had arched and she had come undone so easily then. His heart soared and hers broke. He had known about the doppelgänger by then. He knew there was another one. He wanted her to writhe and arch and come undone before him. But he hadn’t found her yet.

Now here she is, right across the street, smiling as he remembered from Amara, but with eyes resembling Katherine’s. She would be his masterpiece. Amara had died trying to run away, but ultimately couldn’t escape him. Katherine had never been his, but he had had her as his creature broke her body. This one, _oh this one,_ would be his only to break. He will make her sing with pain and beg for his final strike, beg for that death Amara had taken from him and Katherine had given to Trotter.

“Come on, Bonnie, we need to get back before the food goes cold.” _She_ says.

“Coming, Elena.”

_Elena_ , yes, Elena would be his to break, he was sure of it by the time night rolled in Amsterdam. Esther could have her children, but _he_ would have the doppelgänger.

* * *

 

“Damon! Stop spreading your germs all over me!” Caroline yells indignant, a glass of wine in her hand as she leans against Bonnie’s side on the couch in the living room. Damon is opposite to her in an armchair, coughing a lung and aiming for her face it seems.

“Ex- _cough_ –cuse me! I can’t control this!” he whines even as he looks repentant at Bonnie and Caroline’s looks of reproach. Elena is snuggled into Stefan’s arm, shivering slightly. She had started trembling slowly getting worse since she and Bonnie returned from outside, but now she was getting worse by the second. The witch had looked her over, determined it was the curse acting up and stated that it should stop on its own soon. Stefan is currently rubbing up and down her arms and talking to Caroline about something or another which has the blonde laughing for a few minutes and Damon smiling, however surprisingly it may seem. Maybe Damon’s resistance to alcohol is lower than he thought, despite having drunk only a glass of bourbon until now – apparently the drink burns his throat in a no-so-pleasant way now that he’s sick.

“Stefan, that makes no sense!” Bonnie giggles, pushing Caroline off of her in order to put her empty wine glass on the small table before her, ignoring the others scream of reprimand.

They are halfway through the evening when the dining room doors burst open and the voice of Kol Mikaelson breaks their happiness. Caroline is up to her feet and rushing to the other room faster than Elena has ever seen her, Damon following behind at a much slower rhythm with the witch in his wake.

“Nik!” the yell is one of worry, but Elena doesn’t understand why until she herself sees the hybrid, bleeding heavily and unconscious in his younger brother’s arms, with what looks like bite marks littered all over his skin, his clothes tarnished. Elena shivers and holds onto her husband as Bonnie sends pulses of magick through the hybrid, as Caroline cries in Damon’s arms and Kol steals a bottle of one or another type of liquor and downs large gulps of it as if the alcohol is a sedative.

Once Klaus has been put into bed and Caroline has made sure he is healing and comfortable, she returns downstairs immediately. Kol is no longer emptying bottle after bottle, but he seems a bit buzzed, Damon is holding Bonnie to his chest as she struggles to steady her breath – either the magick got her weakened or she had been genuinely afraid for Klaus’ life, maybe even both – and Stefan is simply standing near the doorway – ironic how it makes him seem on the outside among people he had considered once his friends. Caroline is pleased to note – and extremely relieved – that Elena has gone off somewhere, probably to her room – her shivers were getting uncontrollable.

“Kol? What happened?”

It’s perhaps not nearly as surprising as it should be that Damon asks this question, whether because of the ongoing feud between the two men, maybe because Caroline seemed like the better – obvious – choice to inquire. No one takes any mind; they are all too curious themselves to wonder.

“Werewolves.”

“Why would Klaus be attacked by werewolves?” Stefan makes himself known, realizing by the sharp turn of heads towards him, that he had been forgotten in this whole affair.

“Because he went after them, mate.”

“They attacked the mansion yesterday.” Comes the answer from two sources, both providing vital pieces of information to the room. There is shuffling as the witch disentangles herself from Damon to sit down and loud, muffled coughing from the former vampire as they take in the news.

“Why didn’t you say anything, Care?”

“Because I forgot. It wasn’t on purpose, Bonnie.” The vampire reassures, switching her weight from one foot to the other, thoughtful, chewing on her lip. “Did you at least get them? What were they doing here?” she continues, this time addressing the Original.

“Yup. They wanted the stake.” Seeing the look of absolute confusion, Kol adds swiftly. “You know, the white oak stake that you all made back when we were enemies? That stake?” The _oh!_ expression would have been no doubt amusing if the situation hadn’t become so dire. Why would werewolves- No, _how_ would they know about that? The Mikaelsons only knew because Caroline had told Nik when they got together. The stakes had been done after the Originals left Mystic Falls to chase their mother after all.

“How did a pack of mutts find out about that?” _Damon blunt as always,_ Caroline thinks fondly.

“Mother told them.” As per usual, Kol pauses for more drama – or so would his siblings say if asked, though Caroline has always thought Rebekah to be the dramatic one – before he deigned to continue the answer. “More specifically she told them to come here and take the stake so she could kill all of us with it. Nik and I think that she promised them a way to escape the moon curse.”

“So we have not only your psycho mother to fight and whatever witch-y ally she’s working with, we also have to fight werewolves?” Damon’s blue eyes widen, furrowing his brow in disbelief and his jaw tightens with anger. Bonnie puts a hand on his forearm, slowly dragging it up and down, resting it finally in his, their fingers interlacing. Her breathing has calmed, her heart no longer pounding in her own ears and her magic no longer pulsing in hot flares from overexertion. She hasn’t been training as well as she thought she was, comes as a realisation seconds later, once her mind quietens down.  

“So what can we do now? Will the werewolves return soon?” Caroline asks the older vampire. Kol shrugs, seemingly unperturbed by the chain of events. “How did Nik get so badly wounded?” she continues.

“They were many, but we could’ve taken them if they hadn’t had a bloody sprinkler raining down on us vervain continuously. It took us by surprise and they went for me. Nik jumped in the way and got bit several times. It didn’t seem to do much to him at first, but after we got out he got gradually worse. Anyway... you don’t need me and I have my own place to return to. I wouldn’t worry about the wolves, we killed quite a few before we left. They shouldn’t be a problem for a while.” Kol steps back and then speeds out of the room and the slamming of the front door the only clue as to where he went. Caroline stands where she is for a few minutes longer before she mumbles a good night under her breath to everybody and dashes off to her and Klaus’ bedroom. It would appear that the cure in Klaus' blood was slow in acting against the poison in his own vein – nature's fail-safe maybe, thinks Bonnie

“I’m going to see how Elena is, are you two-“

“We’re fine.” Damon answers, interrupting Stefan mid question, his focus never leaving the woman in his arms. He manoeuvres both of them to sit on the couch, whispering soothing words in Bonnie’s hair, and noting once again how gorgeous she is with the symmetrical bob that reaches her shoulders. He runs his fingers through the soft strands, breathing in her scent and leaning into her as her arms tighten around his waist, burrowing his face into the juncture of her neck and shoulder. He presses a kiss to the pulse point, for once thankful for his mortality, able to feel her blood pumping faster only because it’s underneath his lips without the distracting hunger for it. She sighs, going lax in his arms, whispering his name and pulling back only to kiss him on the lips, their mouth colliding in the eternal dance of passion.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Bon-bon?”

“Yeah. Just sleepy” she sighs, leaning her forehead onto his, letting her eyes fall closed again. Their breaths mingle, hot and reassuring in the space between then. Her fingers start up a path from his waist up his side and back again, slowly, and a shiver startles Damon when she reaches a particular ticklish spot. She smiles tiredly, not having the strength to even react how she normally would in this situation, with teases and giggles and more tickling.

“Let’s go to bed. Tomorrow we’re going out.” He says, but quickly continues when she starts protesting. “I don’t wanna hear it, judgy! We don’t know when Esther’s going to strike or when a new pack of dogs is attacking, but tomorrow we are going to have some _fun_.” He smirks down at her, his tongue rolling the word “fun” as if it is something indecent – which, knowing him, it might be, Bonnie concedes – and then he is standing up, his arms under her as he lifts her up and to his chest. Her hands grasp around his neck, a small squeak of surprise escaping her mouth before she relaxes leaning into his shoulder and kissing his collarbone. She is asleep by the time he opens their bedroom door.

 

 


	11. As time goes by ...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a slow day. Caroline is taking care of Klaus. Bonnie and Damon are enjoying a day out, but not knowing is driving Stefan insane. How will they all react to his questions?

Caroline took the wet rag between her fingers and tugged at each end of it until most of the water had been squeezed out. She then held it in one hand, shaking it free of the suds on her skin and on the material, getting rid of the excess moisture. The young vampire turned around, facing the doorway, watching through it inside the bedroom. She let her eyes roam over the prone figure on the bed, breath shaky, occasionally stuttering to a stop, and the wounds slowly closing – too slow for her liking. She closed her eyes, inhaling the scent of metal and vervain in the air. Her stomach churned and she almost fell to her knees, head bent over the toilet seat as a wave of nausea hit her hard. The blood had mixed with the vervain and the werewolf venom, making it hard for Nik to fight off, Bonnie had said when she tried to heal the hybrid.

Caroline purposefully strode inside the room next, watching the dried blood that had stained the sheets – now they’d have to be burned – and the deep claw gashes inside her lover’s flesh. She gently took the water basin from the desk she’d left it on and made her way to sit beside the man. She pressed the wet cloth onto the gash on his shoulder, hearing him hiss in slight pain and wishing she didn’t have to do this for the hundredth time tonight. She took care to properly clean each wound, knowing that the more she did the less vervain remained in his system, the faster he would heal. Caroline was squeezing out more water into the basin when she saw Nik take a deep shuddering breath inside, eyes flickering back and forth, chest expanding suddenly then he fell back onto the bed, breathing normal, slashes closing much faster. He must have beaten the venom at least. She sighed in relief, closing her eyes in gratefulness. If she had been the praying type she would be thanking every saint and angel and god out there this very second.

She put the basin filled with vervain-laced water aside, onto the nightstand, and trudged her feet along the soft-carpeted floor. Her arms were heavy, her eyes ached when she closed them, stung when they were open, and when she laid down her bones crackled and her joints clicked. She felt human with exhaustion, a breath being torn out of her chest when the mattress molded itself to the shape of her back. She tried to fight the sleep, clutching Klaus’ hand, staring up at his face and raking her eyes further along his body, watching skin knit back together, but her vision was blurring and her hand relaxing its grip. She fell asleep.

* * *

Caroline hadn’t come out of her room since last night, locking herself inside like a hermit in a cave the second the moon had shown its face and the darkness engulfed the house. Now the sun shone on the sky and the light streamed through the windows, but still there was no sight of her. Stefan was getting anxious. If this was alright with Damon and Bonnie – which by the looks of it, it was well enough that they were fine leaving the house early – it most definitely wasn’t enough to convince him.

When he’d gotten inside his room last night, Elena had been asleep, her body no longer wrecked by tremors. He was in the middle of changing into his sleepwear when the brunette had let out a gasp and then she screamed. It wasn’t a pain-filled one thankfully, but rather a distressed one that managed to chill him to the bone nonetheless. He’d held her throughout it, unable to wake her up no matter how he tried it until eventually she had slumped against him and slept peacefully. That had been late at night – or early in the morning – and Stefan was pretty sure that if he’d been human he would have bangs under his eyes to last for weeks from now.

Still this meant that Elena was sleeping even now, near noon, and this provided the perfect timing for him to finally find out what had happened to Damon. It was clear that the man himself wasn’t going to come clean any time soon so it was up to Stefan to dig into the matter even if it meant accosting Caroline in the hallways like a psychopath. Which was why he was waiting for her to walk outside her room. Elena had said to let it go when he’d told her about Damon's reaction before telling him how he’d become human, but he could not leave it alone in good consciousness. This was his brother, and despite their occasional fights they had always looked out for one another no matter what. It was driving him insane not knowing what had caused his brother so much pain – obvious despite the façade of anger he was putting up. And letting it go would be worse because of what his own mind was making up, scenarios of Damon spirally into darkness and going on killing sprees combined with him being taken and tortured by hunters. Each would play in front of his eyes as he closed them at night and they kept getting more intense, closer to his worst fears  - what if he had died? What if Stefan would have left him and he’d died and he’d never know? _Oh, god, he couldn’t do this!_

He suddenly had had it, breath still stuttering in his lungs. He marched up the stairs, each step more forceful than the last and stopped in front of Caroline’s door. There he paused. A deep breath and he put his hand on the knob. He pushed it down, the door opening with a soft click and he let it swing open slowly. He watched the darkness of the room, the drapes had been drawn and the lights were off. He let his gaze roam the room, over the vervain filled basin on the nightstand, the dried blood on the sheets, Klaus’ naked torso on the bed, littered with scars, not yet healed properly. Then his eyes found Caroline as a moan of pain reached his ears. He turned to face her just as her breathing grew heavier and faster, her body contorting, eyes squeezing shut, scrunched up in concentration. The nightmare – for that’s what it was for certain – had the blonde in deep, twisting her as it unfolded behind closed lids. Stefan flinched at the sharp scream and was about to go and wake her up – or leave her alone, she didn’t seem to like them much nowadays – when she shot up, her short nails digging into her thighs painfully and pulling upwards to her stomach, her chest heaving and her body covered in a sheen of sweat. Stefan left at the look of pure horror on her face as she saw him shift on his heels – she hadn’t recognized him, she had seen something, some _one_ else – and went back downstairs, hastily pouring himself a glass of bourbon.

It was a few tense minutes later that the blonde vampire came down, her feet shaky on the steps, her eyes hardened. She showed no fear now, in fact she seemed furious and powerful in a way he hadn’t seen anyone before. Stefan tried to hold her gaze, but the look in her eyes made his dart down, staring at the floor. She made her way into the kitchen and returned with a bowl of cereal and a blood bag. As she ate the cereal she checked her phone, and as she sipped the blood Stefan thought over what questions he should ask her.

“Caroline?”

Her head turned to look at him, the fire having died out a little. She made a small sound in her throat as if telling him to continue. Taking a deep breath Stefan realized he needed some time so he asked the next best thing.

“How’s Klaus?”

“Healing for now, I’ll check on him later, though I have a suspicion he’ll be up and about later today.” She says and though her tone is nonchalant, her eyes betray her apprehension. She doesn’t think Klaus to be so lucky? Or herself? The questions are plaguing Stefan and he wonders as his tongue curls around the question _what was your nightmare about_ if perhaps his year away had turned him into a nagging person. He bites down hard on his lip to stop himself from asking, sensing the disaster it would cause.

“Probably” he says instead, shrugging half-honest. “I... Care-Caroline? I-I mean ...”

“Stop” she sighs. “I know you saw.” She continues, eyes overtaken by that same fire from before as memories no doubt play in front of her eyes. Stefan would flush at having been caught red-handed had he not been so worried. He nods swiftly, and turn his green sympathetic eyes to her blue ones. Caroline takes another deep breath, opens her mouth to speak and

“I, I can’t. It’s ... I can’t.”

“What does that mean? What happened to you all last year? I want to know. I _need_ to know.” He pleads, pushing down the frustration and worry and willing them not to turn into anger. He’s losing the fight.

“I just _can’t_ , Stefan!”

“And Damon? What about him? You _can’t_ either?” he snaps, his voice holding an edge of harshness not meant for her, not really.

“Leave Damon out of this.” She answers him, her mouth a thin line. Now she is getting angry.

“Why? Because you’re such good friends now? What happened Caroline? Did you suddenly forget what he did? Did you-“

“ _Don’t_ go there” it’s a threat, he knows it is, but he’s too far gone now, he can’t back down, not when he’s close to getting some real answers for once since he came back.

“Did you forget he _raped you!?”_ Stefan hisses out. He barely has time to realize what he’s done when he sees colour leave Caroline’s face. He doesn’t get any time to apologize because the blonde is growling in his face, eyes red and fangs bared, her hands clutching his wrists hard enough he’s afraid they’ll break and he’s too shocked to _do_ anything about it.

“ _I know what he did. Do you?_ ” her voice is so calm that it sends shivers down his spine and her nails dig into his skin enough to draw blood. Stefan can’t breathe. What is going on here?

“Caroline?” he asks, but her low hum shuts him up immediately.

“You think that was rape? You’re wrong Stefan. He abused me, her used me for everything, sex included, but he didn’t manage to break me. He didn’t manage to _rape_ me Stefan. You don’t know what that word _is, what it means._ To be broken down so completely, helpless and forced to – violated so thoroughly that you can still _feel_ it long after. You don’t _know_ ” she murmurs, each word a hard whisper, hitting him like echoes in an empty room.

“But Damo-“

“ _Almost died because of_ you!” she accuses this time, tone unyielding and unforgiving. He flinches as if slapped just as she does. She lets go of him, nails pulling out and leaving healing gashes in their wake and bruises from where her fingers bit into his flesh. Her eyes widen, red shifting to blurry blue, glazed over by tears she refuses to let slide down her cheeks any more. Her mouth opens – to do what, she doesn’t know – but it’s too late, what has been said can not be unsaid. He knows.

“I... I mean that ... it was... I- _Damn it!_ ”

“Caroline? What are you talking about?” he’s surprised to note that his voice is steady. He watches as her hands fly to her face and cover her mouth in shock.

“I- I...” she flees the scene, rushing as fast as she can back upstairs. It’s not until she’s there, collapsed to her knees on the floor, chocking down on her sobs as to not disturb the wounded hybrid as flashes of both Damon and Trotter mix inside her head, that she realises. She left her phone there.

* * *

 

Damon was in a good mood. Bonnie notices this from the moment she wakes up, his arms wrapped around her waist, his nose burrowed in her hair, his breath tickling the back of her head. She groaned and reached her hand out for her phone and groaned again when she saw it was only 5 in the morning. She can still feel her magic pulsing in her bloodstream, needing to replenish so she does the best thing she can. She turns around, extends her head up to brush her lips to his, smiling when the corners of his lift as well and falls back asleep. She can deal with everything later.

She wakes up 2 hours later alone in bed, with a note saying _get ready 4 a day out._ She stares at the writing for a good five minutes before she throws a pillow over her head to stifle her scream. She’d forgotten all about his plan. Bonnie was reluctant to go out today though with Klaus bedridden and herself still weak, but she is willing to make concessions when she feels the pillow lift itself from her head and her nostrils are flooded with the delicious smell of food. She lets her eyes fall on the hands holding the tray carrying her hopes and dreams and is surprised to see that Damon has brought her breakfast in bed. She almost, _almost,_ doesn’t tease him about it.

“Aww, how sweet! You brought me breakfast, honey poo!” she gushes in a voice that is too high pitched and too condescending to be genuine, despite the truth in it, and relishes the scowl on his face, snorting when her eyes land on his reddened-from-sneezing nose.

“See if I ever do anything nice now.” he grumbles. “No good deed goes unpunished with you, does it? And secondly, _don’t nickname,_ that’s my thing!” he continues before she has the chance to speak, poking her back with the tray to emphasise his words. She lets out a short laugh and turns on her back, then sits up taking the offered food.

As she stuffs her face with toast and omelette and eyes those God-awful pancakes of his, complete with vamp fangs and all, she takes the time to study him properly. She hadn’t had the time to really ask him how he’s doing with Stefan and Elena back yet – hadn’t really had time to wonder that about herself – and sees that despite the obvious anger, he seems almost... hopeful. She hides her smile into her cup of coffee – he’s missed his brother. Then she realizes something else, frowning.

“ _Why_ is there blood here?” gesturing to the other steaming mug on the tray. She resists the urge to give him an aneurysm – mainly because her magic is still weak, and he's human now – and only rolls her eyes when he smirks and takes a sip of it, wiggling his eyebrows. It was just tea for his throat, she belatedly recognizes.

It’s not much later that the two of them are dressed and ready to go out, much to Bonnie’s displeasure. Damon gets inside the car,  but before he turns on the ignition, he takes what Bonnie realizes must be a blindfold. She shakes her head, glaring, but he smiles in that infuriating way of his that causes heat to pool between her legs and her body temperature to rise alarmingly. Her glare intensifies.

“Nuh-uh” he murmurs, moving his index finger left then right in negation. She huffs, but allows him to put the thing on, with not few payback scenarios playing in her mind. The car turns a few times, but Bonnie could care less if it were inside a fucking wormhole, she just wants to get this thing off her eyes and tear her boyfriend apart – possibly with her magic and her tongue. The thought calms her down a bit, even if it makes the moisture all that more present. She can deal with it for now. She almost jumps when the car stops and Damon leads her inside wherever they are. She focuses on her senses, the dull thud of their footsteps, the slight echo of that sound and the musty smell of wherever they are.

“Ok, stop.” Comes Damon’s voice once they step inside a room, the echo has heightened and her feet feel a much softer floor. Where the hell are they?

“Where-“ she begins but is cut off when he lets the blindfold fall from her eyes. It takes a bit to clear her sight, the light is fluorescent and hurts, but once it does she is greeted by a very beautiful ... gym?

“What?” Bonnie asks. She has never thought that she would see Damon Salvatore inside a gym, ever! And yet here they both are. She takes the time to take in details, like the obvious double function of the room – gym and dance studio – and a smile breaks out. She loves dancing.

“Well, Judgy... I thought I could show you a couple of moves.” He begins and she’s too happy testing the floor to chastise him. “Both dancing –“ saying the word as if he’s seconds away from throwing her on the floor and having his way with her. “ and hand to hand combat.” The tone drops even lower somehow, making the witch envision heady scenes in her mind as he circles around her, whispering the words in her ear, his warm breath making her shiver. She grins, challenge accepted.

* * *

 

Stefan is sipping some blood – having learned to control the blood-lust from fear of harming Elena this past year – waiting for his brother to arrive. It’s only 3 p.m. and yet the vampire’s patience is running low. Caroline has remained locked inside her and Klaus’ room, not even coming out when her mother called earlier. Elena was still asleep – worry gnawing at his gut at the thought – and Damon and Bonnie were not here. If Stefan had known where the two had gone, he would have gone there himself, as it is Caroline’s words are on repeat in his mind, louder than ever “almost died because of _you” over and over again._

The front door opens and he recognises Bonnie’s voice as the young woman laughs sweetly at something his brother’s done, then he hears Damon arguing playfully with her, voice devoid of any problem and _almost died because of you_ echoes once more, aching.

“Damon?” he asks, hoping the anger he feels – at himself, at the world, at Damon for not telling him, at whoever hurt his _brother_ – doesn’t bleed through the words. The last thing he wants is a Damon on his guard. It would be so much worse this way. He barely has time to see the couple come inside the living room when Caroline dashes in front of them. His breath gushes out, unsure what’s going on.

Caroline looks into Damon’s eyes, tears clouding her vision, and can read the confusion in his gaze. She turns to Bonnie, takes her hand and pulls her along to the witch’s room.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” She tells the former vampire and with a glare directed toward Stefan she lets the brothers talk.

“What was that about?” Damon’s voice rings out.

“Caroline told me you almost died.” The look in the blue eyes of the only human inside the room is a dark cloud of pain and rage and fear and vengeance. Stefan recognizes his vampire brother there and waits. “What happened? How is it my fault?”

Damon is shaking, his fists clenched tight so that his knuckles are white and his breaths are shallow. “Because you left me there to die.” Comes the answer and Stefan knows he’s about to find a truth he shouldn’t have forced out.

 


	12. Alaric Saltzman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stefan gets the answers he's been looking for. Part 1

“Waking up had never felt so difficult than it did after you left. You don’t know what it was like, what I’d been through, you didn’t even try. She tried to tell you, Elena heard and she was human so you must have heard it too... How could you just leave me there? How can you even come here and ask me to help you when you didn’t care whether I lived or died! I had hoped you’d listen to her, I did. But then your car turned on and you drove off... And she didn’t try to stop you. Elena ... I thought that even after the Mikaelson ball, after the fight between us, I thought she’d at least care enough to help me when I needed, despite everything. I never thought she’d just go 'fuck this shit I’m out' and drive off into the sunset... You fucking left me there, Stefan! I know I'm a dick and that we fought before but I never thought that you’d let me die like that. Not after being willing to spend ten years with Klaus to save my ass!” he didn’t know what he was saying any more, he was too angry, too volatile to even realize what was coming out of his mouth. He had had an idea of what he wanted to tell Stefan eventually, but this took him by surprise, words just pouring out of him. The conscious part of him, the one that could at least try to think, seemed to recognize Bonnie in his words... were they his words?

“I didn’t... I didn’t hear anything” his brother whispered. How could that...?

“How?! Elena heard, Stefan! I wasn’t being fucking quiet that morning! I was screaming! How could you not hear?! I...” a deep breath “... I’ll tell you what you’ve been so eager to know, but after that. I don’t want to see you! I don’t give a fuck how, just don’t talk to me.” Before he could even answer to this, Damon had already begun.

* * *

 

Damon can’t remember when it all went down to hell, when Esther decided they were more a threat than allies, but if he had to guess he’d say it was around the time of the ball, and really... it all seems to have gone bad from there. He does recall that evening though, clearly and in HD. From the invitation on Elena’s steps to the night spent with Rebekah. He does...

* * *

 

They had all been gathered inside the Gilbert’s kitchen, even Bonnie had taken the time away from her newly reunited mother to help come up with a plan – mind it was more of him pestering her to be there than her own volition, but that worked well so why bring it up – when the door bell rang. Elena had gone to check it out and found the invitation. They wondered just how many of them could go, but that was easily taken care of when both Matt and Caroline received one too. Caroline told Bonnie to go with her, either because she was spooked by Klaus’ note or because she was scared she’d give into it, Damon didn’t care if it meant the Little Witch was there. She’s one of their most powerful members beside himself.

Night found him and Stefan in the mansion, trying to get a vague idea of what the other two Mikaelsons want. He vividly remembers Elena, in her stunning strapless dress and styled hair with all the posture of a queen, the world stopping in its axis as she stepped through those doors along with his breath. He had thought he’d found the most beautiful woman in the world. Thinking back on it now, he realizes that he shouldn’t have spoken so soon. Sure, he noticed how gorgeous Bonnie had been in her own gown, blue and flowing and lighting up the room, but then he’d been too obsessed with the doppelgänger to notice the truly beautiful visage of the witch. Kol Mikaelson had noticed though, he remembers that too along with his fight against the youngest Original brother.

Elena’s words repeating in his head, throwing his love in his face like a punch to the gut, seeing Bonnie struggle to get away from Kol without causing a scene while simultaneously flirting with him, feeling the pain in the back of his neck from where Stefan had broken it, all of them bubbled up until he exploded and when he found Kol trying to break Matt’s hand he let it out in the form of a good fight. Too bad he only got so far before the fun police broke it up, he had a feeling the Mikaelson needed it just as much as him that night. So it was a pleasant surprise falling into bed with Rebekah – the sex was great and it took his mind of off Elena.

But then morning came, Rebekah left and Elena had the fucking guts to act _jealous?_ What the fuck? How did she even think...? How had her first thought been that he was lashing out at her for “hurting his feelings”. _I mean she wasn’t wrong, but ... you know what, let’s move past this..._ And then came her plan...

It sounded great if one were to be honest, and they definitely didn’t know about the bloodline issue back then, but as always things back fire. Elena ends up kidnapped by Elijah and almost dying because of Rebekah, Esther vanishes into thin air, Finn is locked up by the rest of his siblings and eventually they all leave. One by one they go, the lasts being Klaus and Rebekah themselves, accompanied by his former _mentor_ Sage. He hears sometime during his recovery that Finn changed his mind and that he and the ginger restarted they torrid love affair... whatever. The important thing is that Abby Bennett became a vampire, Esther’s plan failed and consequently she decided to sent a fucking assassin witch after him.

“ _Which brings us to that morning. I was nearly asleep, thinking about this or that, no worry in the world and ...”_

She sneaked inside, probably through the balcony, no idea how she floated up there, and began her spell. He doesn’t know how she looked like, not really, the pain had been too much for him to concentrate on her. He remembers feeling the initial stab, straight through his stomach, the blade piercing layers of flesh and muscle, reaching deep inside. He doesn’t know how he didn’t sense her, how he didn’t hear her chant – for he knew she was chanting because she was almost screaming it by the time his eyes opened – or what spell she used to tie him up. He felt the strong wood curled around his wrists and ankles and cursed her in his mind. Pain he knew, he had been in pain many times over a century and a half, but this time it was worse.

Once she’d stabbed him, she tightened the hold of the bedposts and that of the sheet around his waist – which he had only just noticed before she continued – and turned the knife inside of him. After a while she seemed to realize she needed to do more and if his snarling was anything to go by, this was not enough to stop him from trying to kill her so she put all of her strength into her arms and dragged the dagger towards her, slashing as she went. He screamed then, no longer able to restrain it. That’s when he heard Elena’s voice, drawn to her like she was the lighthouse and he the boat adrift, “I heard him scream...”

“ _She told you Stefan, she tried to tell you.” Stefan for all he’d lived was shocked, the image of his brother going through what he was describing was enough to make him sick to his stomach, but he_ hadn’t _heard Damon that day, he knew that!_

“ _But of course, you thought it wasn’t a big deal so you turned on your engine and left me while she ...”_

She took it out, murmuring under her breath now, Latin flowing from her lips just as steadily as his blood stained the sheets of his bed. She opened her eyes, an odd amber colour that he’d never forget as long as he lived, and she plunged the dagger back inside this time at the most further edge from her, sinking it into flesh again as he cried out. He had started asking her what she wanted at one point, but as blood fell around him and onto the floor, his mind drifted. She twisted it twice this time, picking up volume again, before slicing across. He took one look down at himself. His eyes gazed at his own intestines as they were ripped from her brutal lashes, falling outside of his body the deeper she cut into him. He was delirious by the time she reached his spine, having too little blood left, too much time having elapsed, but he still felt the edge of the dagger touch his spine, he still tensed and begged her to stop, he still _prayed_ that someone would return – _that you would return, Stefan” he hissed –_ but her voice got louder and her wrist twisted one more time, and another, and then again. He tried to keep conscious, tried to fight it off, but his veins were darkening from the lack of blood and the agony was too much so when she sliced the spine and white filled his vision he blacked out. He didn’t hear Caroline’s scream, nor did he see the blonde bite into the witch so hard that when she fell to the floor drained, her neck had ripped slightly.

* * *

 

There are flashes in and out of consciousness, voices yelling his name and pain, _so much pain, Stefan_. Then suddenly his eyes flash open, blue and unfocused and scrunched up in confusion, and there’s night outside. Caroline is sitting in a chair next to him, frantically rolling open soaked bandages, rosy water pouring from them. He tries to talk, but his throat is too dry and he can barely open his lips. She doesn’t realize he’s awake until she is bent over trying to pull him into a sitting position. It’s also then that he sees the damage and has a flash of her, blonde hair matted in red, splashes over her mouth and skin. His legs are at least an inch away from the rest of him and the image feels like he’s looking into one of those weird mirrors in an amusement park. He stares as Caroline bursts into crying, trying to muffle her sobs as she picks him up and joins the two halves over a roll of bandages spread out on the bed She takes one end, puts it over the split abdomen and holds it there as she take the other end and drags it tightly over and carefully around – he’s still not sure how she managed that one completely, but she did – until his body is held together by slowly reddening bandage and even slower healing flesh – _so slow it was only a bit of skin stitching itself together barely at my back._

She lays him back down cautiously again, making sure his body is well aligned and not moving, before she slumps into the chair again. She stays there a few seconds, hiccuping back her sobs, and then she’s moving again, flashing over somewhere outside his room and returning with some kind of adhesive tape. She puts one of her hands underneath his back, lifting it about one or two centimetres off the surface of the bed, the other hand putting the tape in place, before laying him down again. There is a blood bag attached to his mouth he realizes at one point, pouring blood into his mouth, but he is still not healing – whatever that witch did was still affecting him – and Caroline is taping his torso with duck tape to hold it together.

He feels a hysterical laughter bubble past his lips but he holds it back – as well as the tears that threaten to swallow him whole – because for some reason he has enough presence of mind to realise moving right then would be a fucking horrible decision. Once she’s done, she sits back down and opens her mouth to speak, but he’s already too exhausted to keep his eyes open for any longer. He losses consciousness.

* * *

 

_The next time I wake up she’s still sitting there. It’s morning outside and judging by her still bloody clothes she hasn’t moved at all from that spot all night. I’m better though, enough to be a dick about it so ...”_

“Blondie...” Caroline hears a hoarse voice and her senses slam into alertness as she recognises it as Damon’s. She open her eyes, jumps to her feet and checks to see if the blood had finally stopped flowing, before she rises her gaze to him. His blue eyes are bleary and he’s still too white to be considered normal, but he seems better. He’s also talking which she takes as progress.

“Damon? How are you? Does it hurt at all? I tried to let it heal on its own, but it wouldn’t so then I tried stitching it, but it wouldn’t hold much, but eventually I succeeded and it held and I fell asleep and I’m sorry and did it rip open again?” she breathed out faster than he thought was possible, her voice shaky, her _whole body shaking, she was terrified for me Stefan…_

“Blondie! Caroline! I’m fine! I’ll deal with this, you can go now.” He muttered, hissing when he tried to get up, pushing into his hands to sit before giving up. His head collapsed into the pillows with a loud exhale and her hands pushed into his shoulders, her voice ringing in his ears, but he could barely make out her warnings and precautions when his mind was swarmed with thoughts of “I can’t feel my legs, I just got cut in half, I’m not healing, Oh God!”. Now, Damon has never been a religious person, but in that fraction of a moment he wandered if perhaps God had finally decided to punish him for everything he’d done wrong in his unlife as panic and fear gripped him. But that lasted a little while only, before anger overrode it. Caroline was still talking, softer, calmer now, but he was angry and scared and he snapped.

“Go AWAY!” he screamed at her with all the strength he had to spare. She jumped startled, tears filled her eyes without her permission and she left by reflex, the door slamming shut behind her. “ _And why would she h_ _a_ _v_ _e_ _stayed? I’ve been nothing but horrible to her ever since we met. I didn’t expect her to return at all, but she did and ...”_

When Caroline came back Alaric was right next to her, his steps rushed and uncoordinated. She didn’t stay for long – or at all really – and before Damon knew it he was staring at Ric and Ric was trying his best not to stare at the bandaged torso.

“What?!” Damon barked, wanting to get up and pour himself a drink but unable to move still. For the hour it took for Caroline to get Ric, he’s tried to move his feet, even one toe and it would’ve been enough, but he couldn’t even feel it much less move.

“Damon, I need to change those bandages.” Is what the man says, watching the bloodied material. Damon scoffed.

“I’ll do it myself later, I’m fine. I’ll be up and ripping throats out in no time.”

“Damon...” and there it was, that condescending, I’m-tired-of-your-shit, precautionary tone. It raked across Damon’s mind, the voice his father’s, and anger once more rose inside him.

“I said I’ll do it myself.” And if he could have, this would’ve been the moment where he turned on his side away from the door.

“You can’t. Caroline told me-“

“Blondie should keep her mouth shut!”

“Damon! I need to see if you’re healing at all, I need to check those stitches! You can’t even move!”

“How would you know? Maybe I’ve already heal and I just wanted to sleep?”

“Because then you wouldn’t be here, you would be in another bed that isn’t soaked in your blood, probably with a drink!”

“Leave me alone Ric.” He sounded tired, the previous energy drained, the words coming out in a sigh. “Why do you care? I killed you remember? I slept with you wife and then turned her...”

“I told you last time that we’re not drunk enough for that conversation.” Ric moves across the room, taking the bandages as he goes, but when he tries to lift Damon, the vampire punches him – with far less power than he normally has – and tells him to leave again. Alaric doesn’t want to do it, but he knows his friend enough to know that if he stays they’ll get nowhere but in another fight that’ll leave him angry and Damon alone. He can’t afford that. He leaves and joins Caroline on the sofa inside the living room, a bottle of bourbon in her hand.

“How is he?” she asks.

“He wouldn’t let me see.” He takes her bottle and takes a large mouthful of it. He needs it. “Caroline... all that _blood...”_

“I know. I called mom, figured she’d want to know. She’s coming here. How are we going to do this Ric? I don’t know how... I” tears roll down her cheeks and he puts his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his chest as she dissolves into heart-wrenching sobs.

“We’ll have to be strong and more stubborn than him. We can’t let the idiot by himself, Caroline.” There’s a muffled sound that might be an “okay” but he isn’t sure. Then they wait for Liz to arrive and for Damon to calm down.

By the time Liz’s car parks in front of the house Caroline has fallen asleep and Ric has taken it upon himself to get enough supplies to help put his best friend together. Liz opens the door, rushing inside and noting her sleeping daughter on the couch. She stays quiet as she walks upstairs, meeting Ric on his way to the bathroom, and carefully enters Damon’s room. She gasps at the damage she sees, the sheets now a brownish colour that make her think of some of the most horrifying crime scenes she’s ever seen as a sheriff.

“Damon?” she whispers. There’s very little movement from the man, so little that if his eyes hadn’t opened she would’ve thought him dead. “How are you?”

“Liz? What are you doing here? Did Caroline blab to you too? I’m fine.” His voice is gruff, pain lining each word and Liz knows that even though he probably can’t feel his lower body, he can feel the pain more acutely than ever before. She says nothing, no point in doing it since he knows the truth, and sits on the edge of the bed. She looks him over, noticing that there is no fresh blood pouring out, and takes his hand in her own. The reaction is anything but on purpose as his fingers tighten around hers and his face relaxes minutely. He wants to appear indestructible – she knows that, she’s done that – but he isn’t and that hurts more than anything... and he’s alone. Liz realizes that it was most likely a choice to be alone, but she can see the consequences of it now, in the squeeze of his eyes closed, in the slow exhale of his breath, in the strong hold of his hand.

“Hey, I’m right here.” She murmurs to him in the voice she used whenever Caroline hurt herself as a child. She sees the conflict on his face, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he wars with letting her help or not. “I’m sorry we were so late. Caroline told me she found the witch standing over you saying a spell, there was nothing you could have done.” She continues softly, holding tighter on his hand and moving the other hand to gently caress his hair. He looks angry for a moment before he slumps into the mattress and she recognizes just how tense he’d been until then. She shifts her weight to sit more comfortably and speaks to him softy, words of comfort she hopes, as he nods off again. There is a sheen of sweat on his forehead and he feels too hot to the touch, he is too pale and his breath is so shallow she fears for his life for a few minutes.

“Caroline.” She says and knows her daughter can hear it even though she barely spoke the name. True enough, the blonde appear in the doorway with Ric in tow.

“He’s asleep, should we do this now?” she asks the two, still carding her fingers through the vampire’s hair. The words seem to start the other two as they are suddenly bending over and lightly lifting Damon to get the dirty bandage that they cut off of him, then there is a team effort in wrapping Damon up in the new one as his body is only held together by flesh and some sinew. He groans once and Liz has to whisper in his ear to calm him down. She doesn’t know if the pain has decreased or if he is in so much of it that this barely registers. She is afraid to know.

“Mom, I think we got it.” Caroline says eventually, the bloodied rags held in her hands. Liz exhales in relief. She is the last one to leave the room, taking the time to kiss Damon on the forehead as she goes. She can’t stay long though, her jobs demands her every waking moment so she wishes Ric and Caroline luck and patience in dealing with the stubborn vampire. Caroline is exhausted by then so when the door closes finally, she numbly makes her way upstairs and into an empty bedroom.

Ric has a harder time sleeping, so when Damon screams for the first time that night, the man is quickly running up the stairs and into the room. Damon has his eyes closed and his head is lolling back and forth as if trying to escape, muffled cries leaving his mouth. He whimpers at one point, before giving off another sharp scream that jump-starts Alaric into motion. The man takes a short run to the adjacent bathroom, soaks a towel in cold water and returns to wipe Damon’s forehead and neck clean as the fever they hadn’t even known was possible twists the nightmares the vampire already has. Ric carefully moves Damon down the bed until he can sit at the head of it with Damon’s head on his lap. Alaric doesn’t fall asleep that night, but he does lose battle with consciousness when dawn breaks.

Damon wakes up at around noon, his head pounding and his waist burning. He is momentarily confused but it doesn’t last long as the memories of the previous day assault him. He moans in pain at both them and the mounting soreness than is soon to become agony. He doesn’t realize that Ric hears him until the other man is holding a glass of water at his lips. Puzzled Damon opens his mouth on reflex, taking a sip and then another until awareness hits him.

“What are you doing here, Ric?” he murmurs, attempting and failing to push away.

“What do you think? Making sure you live through the night, asshole.”

“Aren’t you a ray of sunshine?” he answers then dissolves into a bout of coughs. Ric waits until it stops before moving Damon on top of the pillows he'd previously been laying on.

“But why?”

“Because, you dick, I’m your friend and you don’t have many of those. Also because who would I get drunk with without you around?” Alaric is happy that the anger from yesterday has abated, but Damon is still sickly pale and wincing every few seconds. They need something better, they need Bonnie. They gave Damon a shot of morphine last night, stolen from Meredith as Ric was leaving, but it hadn’t done anything. Could the pain be magical in origin?

“Now stay there while I get you some O –. And don’t think you’re free of us, me and Caroline are gonna be on your ass 24/7 until you can walk again – and you _will_ walk again, Damon.” Alaric promises, exiting the room before he can see Damon’s smile, but able to hear the sarcastic response.

“Yes, mother.”

 

 


	13. Caroline Forbes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of Damon telling Stefan what's happened to him.

 

“Damon!” Caroline yells as she rushes upstairs, food all but forgotten. Damon is screaming, sharp staccato yells that he has been trying to muffle but couldn’t alerting the blonde that he is now awake. “Damon? Are you -? I mean, what can I do to make it better?”

It’s been more than a week since a witch found her way into his bedroom and tried to kill him, yet he hasn’t quite healed. His torso has been stitching itself slowly – annoyingly, painfully slow – starting from his back and making its way up to his abdomen. Ric had said last time he’d changed the bandages that it was nearly healed, but Damon still couldn’t feel his legs at all, despite the spine having healed among the first. He wouldn’t say it, just like how he wouldn’t acknowledge that the only way he got any sleep was when Ric was staying in his bedroom with him, just like how he would deny even having nightmares, that he was terrified at the thought of not being able to walk again. Caroline has joined in on that thought after days had passed and no change was noticeable. Bonnie had yet to arrive as well, but she had said she was on her way earlier today. They needed Bonnie soon.

“Damon?” Caroline asks again from his doorway, watching him struggle to even his breath while he clutched at the sheets in pain, his chest rising and falling quickly. They noticed early on that the more Damon healed the more pain he was in. Liz Forbes had been the one to realize the connection. Damon had tried to laugh it off in his usual manner, but then his spine had snapped in place and there had been no way to keep the unearthly scream from leaving his lips. He’d been in constant agony for the rest of the night as – most likely, but they weren’t sure – synapses and nerve endings reconnected. Now his intestines were merging with the ripped pieces from the witch’s handy work, his stomach swirling painfully inside of him. He had had a hand inside his abdomen once, he remembers when a wave of white hot pain crashes over him and Caroline moves to hold his hand, and it had been ten times less than how it feels now to heal. He flails for few minutes, nausea overtaking him and the other vampire dashes as fast as she can to get a bucket from the bathroom. He heaves air and blood and a little bit of food that they’ve been making him eat, then his throat burns as he tries to throw up some more but there is nothing left inside of him. His spine aches as he lifts slowly to do it, then sends sharp, knife-like spikes when he moves slightly faster than he should have to lay back down.

That’s another thing he refuses to admit, but thinks it as loudly as the other, as clear as his gratefulness for Ric, as his awareness of Caroline’s thoughts. He hates being in this bed. He hasn’t left it in more than a week, unless you count the time Ric and Liz had to lift him up and hold him kind of hovering above it and little to the side as Caroline vamp-sped changing his sheets, and he is sick of it. He thinks that if he never again has to lay in it, it will be too soon – and he had loved his bed!

“Go back, I’m fine. It’ll pass, Blondie.” He manages to say between gasps and groans, fighting with himself to let go of the material clutched in his hands. Caroline almost doesn’t listen, but there _is_ nothing she can do to help, not without more morphine, and since Meredith found Ric stealing and refused to even talk to him anymore – and then forbid Liz to get some when the Sheriff issued an official request – they were without any efficient pain killer. Not that the morphine did much, in fact in a good day it barely took off the edge, but it was something at least.

Caroline goes back to her cooking. Since having to take care of Damon, she’s found out she isn’t that horrible a cook if she puts her mind to it, her mom even praising her for some of the things she’s made when she has the time to stop by and help. The vampire doesn’t know where Alaric went, he just left in a hurry earlier that day without any explanation.

Her phone starts ringing. She foolishly thinks it might be Stefan or Elena, finally having heard her voice mails. She is pretty sure they tossed their phone away the minute they got out of dodge, but she keeps hoping. Hopes that Stefan will hear her voice begging to come back because “ _Damon is hurt and I don’t know what to do, Stefan, please”_ or that Elena will appear in the doorway, her arms wide to hug her saying “ _it’s alright, I’m here Care. What can I do to help?”_ or both of them parking their car up front and running inside worried, Stefan rushing to his brother’s side as Elena listen to Caroline explain what happened, with tears in her eyes telling the blonde they're going to make it this time too. On the other line is Matt, and Caroline hates how disappointed she is about the fact. He tells her that Jeremy is leaving Mystic Falls. Caroline’s first thought is “good riddance”, followed by a quick flash of memories. Bonnie in front of her crying her eyes out, Bonnie telling her Jeremy broke up with her because she’s been distant, Caroline wrapping her arms around her as she pulls her inside for a long night of ice-cream eating and movie watching, Elena knocking a few minutes later, a bottle of tequila in hand and a few choice words for her brother, moving to embrace Bonnie and apologize for the stupid that is Jeremy. Caroline remembers how Bonnie gave this half-laugh half-sob, and hugged them both and spent the night not thinking about her mom being a vampire or Jeremy. When Matt hangs up Caroline is hit by vertigo faster than even her vampire reflexes can cure and she has to sit down for a bit. Ric returns with a lot of morphine and when her mom comes in that night she refuses to ask how he got it.

* * *

“ _Vulneribus corpore medere. Tollis dolorem. Sutam carnis. Natura obsequerer! Exaudi me deam!” (Heal the wounded body. Numb the pain. Stitch the flesh. Nature obey. Hear me Goddess!)_

Bonnie’s words were muttered over and over again, her eyes closed, her hands hovering over Damon’s stomach, the air filled with sweet smelling smoke from the herbs she was burning. The spell was strong, but the young woman was sure she could do it, and so she chanted again and again until she saw Damon’s breath deepening and his skin drawing together and healing, leaving behind soft red scars along the edge of his cut. The windows and the door leading to the balcony blew open sometime during the spell, wind picking up speed as Bonnie’s voice rose. One last “Exaudi me, deam!” and Bonnie lowered her hands, exhaled long and opened her eyes as the wind calmed down, only a calm breeze now flowing through the room.

“Damon?” she asked, checking to see if he was awake. He had fallen unconscious a little after she arrived, the pain too potent for even him to withstand.

“Judge-y, you know it's creepy to watch someone sleeping?” he murmured, his voice nowhere near strong enough, but there was relief in his words and he was breathing normally.

“Well, some would call it romantic. I haven’t heard you complaining when Ric does it.” She answered half-heartedly. He gave a snort of amusement, his lips curving into a smirk afterwards.

“Because what Ric and I have is special.” He answered and promptly fell asleep, the sound of her laughter the last thing he heared. Bonnie questions when she last laughed so much. _Years ago maybe_? His pain doesn’t return, but he still can’t feel his legs.

* * *

Alaric Saltzman used to be an ordinary man once upon a time. He used to have friends with whom he went out and had fun and didn’t kill him when they got pissed, he used to have a girlfriend that wasn’t a psycho, he used to spend Saturday nights in, watching a movie and drinking a beer and not waking up wondering where the hell he was. But that was once upon a time, before he got married, before his wife got turned and became a raging madman and her sire his best friend, that had killed him several times now. So when he wakes up in the middle of Town Square late at night with no idea how he ever got there, it takes him a minute or two to get worried. When realization hit him, he questions briefly if perhaps he’s started to sleepwalk since Damon’s attempted murder nearly a month ago. But that plan is squandered quickly because _Damon’s attempted murder was a month ago._ Then he thinks that perhaps he was taken here for a purpose, but there is no one else in the Square so that can’t be it either. He spends a while longer thinking until he deems it hopeless and slowly begins his walk back to the Salvatore Boarding House, hoping Damon hasn’t had another nightmare while he was gone. Despite having left Damon’s bedroom a week and a half ago, he had nearly every night stayed in front of the door, listening. When Damon had a nightmare more than one time a night, Ric would enter and stay in the chair next to the bed until his friend calmed down, then he would go to sleep himself.

As he walks he thinks. There have been other times he’s blacked out lately, moments when he doesn’t remember what’s happened for a few hours at a time, moments when he wakes up and he’s dressed differently than with what he remembers going to sleep into, but neither Caroline nor Liz – who’s been spending more and more time at the Salvatore’s – said anything so he had left it alone. Now though he is worried.

There have been some unsolved murders lately. Liz had been quite baffled when one of Elena’s weapons had been found, a stake inside the chest of one of the council members. The trail had led to nowhere – Elena was gone and he was home with Caroline and Damon all day every day. Thank God it’s June otherwise Caroline would be left to take care of the most stubborn vampire alone while he had to teach.

_But what if it had been me?_ The thought is like a slap. He had started losing time around the time of the first murder and he had lost nearly 3 hours when the council member had turned up dead. It was possible, he had often wondered how he was even sane, but that had been mostly jokingly. What if he _was_ going crazy? He should tell someone, he decides.

“But who?” he mutters in the dead of night, the road empty at this hour. Only two more miles until the Boarding House. _Fuck, my feet are hurting!_

“Maybe Dam- No. He’s got enough to deal with.” _Plus we’re starting the physical therapy tomorrow._ He thinks after he gets over the fact that he’s begun talking to himself. “I should tell Liz at least.” He muses eventually as he sees the front door. The sun is not yet on the horizon so he might get a few hours of sleep in before he and Caroline start with the next step in Damon’s recovery. 

* * *

“Come on, Ric! It wasn’t you!” Damon argues, but it is fruitless. Alaric has made his decision. He doesn’t know how long until _he_ takes over completely and he won’t risk every one he care about. He won’t.

“It might not be, but Bonnie’s herbs can only hold him off so long. I’d rather it not be me that decides to kill you next. Plus, you don’t need me anymore. You can stand on your own now and Caroline is the one with the next thing to do. I think you’re starting walking soon.”

“But Ric...” he doesn’t know what to say. Alaric has a good point, it’s been proven when he almost killed Liz a few day ago.

“I’ll be fine. I did tell you though, didn’t I?” Ric smiles, swinging his bag over his shoulder. He’s really leaving then, Damon thinks from his spot laying on the couch – _God, I never thought I’d miss s_ _i_ _ting on_ _this_ _couch!_

“What?” he’s defeated.

“I told you you’re gonna walk again. You were a dick about it, but I knew.” And as the door closes and the car starts up Damon can’t help the flash of betrayal and the memory of Stefan doing the same a month and a week ago.

* * *

“Damon! Just one more step, I swear! Come on!” Caroline cheers, but she’s clenching her fists tight at her sides, her legs tensing in case he can’t do it. He’s already far surpassed her expectation for the day. Ric left two day ago and since then Damon has been trying to walk on his own, pushing his limits until he ends up exhausted at only 9 pm.

“Shut. Up.” He hisses, drawing in a shaky breath, feeling his arms trembling as he grips the bars. He closes his eyes tight and inhales once, then he lifts his right foot up barely and half-moves half-drags it forward. He plants the foot down on the floor, both his legs shaky with exertion and Caroline moves in front of him, holding him from beneath his arms. He relaxes his weight on her, knowing she can take it and exhales deeply. A small smile graces his lips. He did it.

“I told you, you could!” she whispers in his ear as she slowly lowers him on the couch. He can sit up for about two hours now.

She sits beside him, putting a glass of blood to his lips. His arms are numb by his side. He opens his mouth, relishing the taste of blood and feeling it heal his aching muscles slowly. He still can’t heal like he could before the attack. He wonders if he ever will.

“I’m surprised.” He hears the witch. He didn’t even know she was here today. She’s been taking care of her vampire mother a lot lately. “I think a few more weeks and you’ll be walking properly again.” She continues. “Figures you’d be stubborn enough to pull this off.” And then she waves goodbye to Caroline and leaves.

Caroline Forbes wakes up to a sharp noise that night, so loud she’s jumped out of the bed and is by Damon’s door before she even realizes what she’s done. She hesitates. Damon told her to never enter his room without permission and she held her promise, until now. Sliding the door open, she peeks inside and sees Damon, on his side, his legs somewhat bend towards his chest. She thinks that if he could move them properly he’d be curled up in on himself by now. She walks closer when he groans.

She’s about to call his name when she notices the droplets sliding down his face. He is biting his lower lip, his hands wrapped around his abdomen as if to protect it and _crying_. Caroline is left stunned. What can she do now? _Damon is crying_ the thought repeats itself in her mind. She bites her own lip. A whimper. A shiver. A moan of pain. A gasping breath. A _sob_. Caroline makes up her mind, consequences be damned. She can’t leave him alone like this.

Caroline moves around the bed, sits down on the empty side and then lays down, her head cushioned on the pillow resting on the headboard. She inhales. Slowly, without waking him, the blonde turns him around until he’s facing her, his legs now straightened. She takes another deep breath. Caroline then puts one hand underneath his head and the other takes his arm. She lets the moment hover like this for a few more breaths. Carefully she pulls his arm around her waist and his head to rest on her chest. He’s still crying, but at least he hasn’t woken up. She arranges both of them in a comfortable position, feeling the salty tears seep into her t-shirt and his shaky sobs reverberate in her ribs. She soothes him softly, caressing his hair like she saw her mother do and murmuring words reminiscent of what her mom used to say when she woke up from a nightmare when she was younger. He stops crying, his arm tightens around her mid-line and she falls asleep to the sound of his even breath.

* * *

Damon won’t talk to her anymore. It’s been two weeks since she first found him crying in his sleep and, after a few yells that morning, Damon has refused to speak one word to her. It’s now July, the sun is beating down on then through the open window which proves to offer little comfort from the heat. Damon is still doing his physiotherapy, now walking more surely, his steps more confident. They haven’t heard anything from Ric in a while now. Caroline is getting tired of his childish behavior. She asks him whether he wants to go upstairs or stay here. He says nothing, but wipes his sweat on a towel, balancing his weight on his legs and one arm. Caroline can’t take it anymore.

“Why?!” she screams. Damon doesn’t look at her. She strides to stand in front of him. “Why are you doing this?! What did I do!?” she waits. For an answer, a snide remark, anything. He is quiet, not even glancing in her direction. She about to storm out – damn him, he can sit on the couch if he wants to, he doesn’t need her for that anymore – when he says something. It’s not what she’s been expecting.

“Why are _you_ doing this?” she is blown away. She’s been expecting reproaches about her finding him crying, she expected rage, or insults. He seems... resigned, sad. She shudders.

“Doing what?” she whispers, she can’t find the strength to do more. She’s been so tired lately, from him, from her near constant fights with Tyler, from the letters and texts she keeps receiving from Klaus. So _tired_. She doesn’t feel 18, she feels a hundred.

“Why are you still helping me? Why have you helped me at all?”

“What are you _talking about?!_ ” she can’t believe she’s hearing this. What did he think, that she’d just leave him here to suffer? Is he insane?

“I’ve done and said some pretty horrible thinks to you Blondie... Caroline. Why would you help me?” He can’t be serious. He brings this up now? Now! When she’s finally found her way around it?

“Damon, it doesn’t matter now. You’re hurt, you need help. I want to help you.”

“But why? The things I’ve done to you. The things I’ve said. How do you not hate me?”

“I’ve tried to.” She admits quietly, but he can hear it regardless. “I used to do it. When I first turned I wanted to rip into your throat. But then I killed that guy and I understood a bit, the blood lust blinds vampires. Bonnie asked me once what I hated most about being a vampire. I told her it’s the blood lust.” She paused, led him to the couch and sat down beside him. “She was shocked, you know. She thought that would be the best part. Huh? Figures she’d think that.” Damon snorted in agreement. “But even then I hated you a bit, you used me Damon. Hell, you basically raped me.” He was silent. “But then I remembered what it felt like when I compelled someone. To have that control over someone like that, especially for a control freak like me – like you – it’s intoxicating. I understood it a bit more. I can’t forget it, it hurt so much Damon. You took me apart and then put the pieces all wrong, but I could understand it a bit.”

“I’m sorry.”

She almost doesn’t hear it, that’s how soft it is. Then the shock hits, the _Damon Salvatore just apologized to me_ hits her without warning. Then tears gather in her eyes, her lips tremble and she bites the lower one to stop herself from crying, it doesn’t work. Tears spill over and she turns away from him. They’re silent for a few minutes.

“I don’t think that. I was pissed when I said it.” He admits.

“I know. We’re more alike than you’d like Damon.” He scoffs in disbelief.

“Yeah, let’s not exaggerate.” She slaps his shoulder.

“We are!” she exclaims. He sends her a look as if challenging her to prove it. She wipes her eyes. “Well, first, we both know what’s like to be second best to someone we care about.” He frowns, but doesn’t disprove her statement. It’s not a lie. “Then we both are slightly more affected if someone says something hurtful, you attack and I cry myself to sleep.” Again he is silent. She smiles next. “We both have far better taste in clothes than any of our friends slash family members.” He smirks as she laughs quietly. “We hate being alone.” She admits in a whisper. “We both care more than we like to let on, we cover it up with a mask – my happiness, your sarcasm – when really we just hurt that much more when we are proven right about people.”

“Huh, you thought about this a lot, Blondie.”

She smiles at his attempt to deflect and takes his hand in hers. “I hated it, realizing we’re maybe not so different. I used to hate it for a long time. You were the evil one, how could I be even a bit like you? But now I can admit we’re even the same in our need for control. Face it Salvatore, I’m your female version! Just look at this body!” she laughs as she twirls around to show herself. He laughs a bit too, and then he sobers up again.

“I am sorry Caroline.” He says again, this time in a normal voice. God, this thing is making him into Stef- _no, don’t think it!_

“Apology accepted.” She tells him, smiling brightly.

“Just like that?”

“Just like that. Now come on, you need to sleep and I need a shower. Actually you could use one too. Think you can do it now?” He nods. He can’t believe she just forgave him like that.

“Damon?” she calls. He lifts his eyes to hers. “Just don’t ever do it again. To me or anyone else. Ever.” She’s serious and so he does what he can. He tells her “okay” and promises.

* * *

 

“I told you, you could do it!” Bonnie is watching amused from her sit on the armchair, letting her eyes follow the happy dance Caroline is doing around Damon. They’d been arguing for the past two days now that Damon would be able to walk without the bars or anyone else’s support. Caroline kept saying he could, but he wasn’t so sure. So when they finally decided to test it, they called Bonnie as a referee. She had taken some time away from her mom, unable to stay with her anymore after she found a note saying she was leaving again. She hadn’t actually left, but the fact she’d thought about it hurt, so she left Jamie to look after her. She turned her attention back to the two when Liz came through the door, throwing her gun holster and badge onto the table and sent a questioning look towards the witch. Bonnie just shrugged and smiled.

“Fine, Blondie, fine. Now what do you want?” _Ah yes, the bet_ thought the witch again.

“I want...” Caroline trailed off, thinking. “...pasta for dinner. You kept complaining last week that mine were horrible and that you could do _sooo_ much better. Let’s see it!”

“Caroline, he must be tired  and...”

“Mom, he is fine. Plus he knew what he was getting himself into.” The blonde argued her case and from the sigh that Sheriff Forbes gave, the younger vampire had won. Bonnie grinned.

“I agree with Caroline. Let’s see what you can do Damon.” Bonnie challenged. If the look on the man’s face was anything to go by, they were in for a treat tonight. Bonnie relaxed as Caroline squealed in delight and Liz left to change shaking her head. The August sun was slowly descending when the smell of homemade pasta filled the Salvatore Boarding House.

* * *

 

“Damon!” Liz yelled one day as she watched the vampire stumble and fall. He is fine, but she still fusses over him for the next few hours. Caroline has to literally forcefully remove her mother from the house so Damon doesn’t end up accidentally on purpose killing her.

* * *

“Friends?” Caroline asks a few days before the bet. Damon was reading on the couch when she suddenly appeared from inside the kitchen. It was her attempt at pasta tonight. Damon was dreading it. Every bit of Italian blood in his veins screaming against it, but he still couldn’t walk without support so there was little he could do.

“What?” he returns perplexed.

“Are we friends now?”

“Friends?” he can’t seem to understand what she wants so she adds to her initial statement.

“Yeah. I mean I don’t think we’re enemies, I’ve seen too much of you and you know too much about me to call us acquaintances and let’s be honest, we basically live together. Hell, mom acts like she’s got a second kid on a good day. So. Are. We. Friends?”

“Blondie... you don’t want me as a friend. I don’t _have_ any friends.” She scoffs, frowning.

“Yes, you do. There’s Ric, there’s mom and now... there’s me” she says it so matter-of-factly that he just _stares_. “Well?” she pushes, grinning.

“Sure, why the hell not, Blondie!” he smirks. _Friends huh?_

* * *

“Caroline, if you don’t stop pulling me I will snap!” Damon says between gritting teeth. He is in front of the front door which is wide open, Caroline is in front of him, holding onto his wrist and pulling. The sun is at midday on a late August day. It’s the first time he’s stepped outside in nearly four months. He feels as if his legs are about the collapse under him.

“Come on, come on, come on!” she says, laughing madly. He shakes his head. He never thought that he’d ever see this side of Caroline, but now they were friends. He still couldn’t believe she’s forgiven him some days. He takes a deep breath in and then steps outside. The sun hits his face full on and he has never been happier to feel it as he is now. He has struggled lately with the thoughts of Stefan leaving him to die, so much that the blonde had had to literally pry the information out of him. She had listen as he talked, watching him and nodding, her eyes sometime during it getting blurry – because of her tears or because of his he doesn’t know – and by the time he was done, he felt better. She told him that Stefan hadn’t known what was happening, that there must be some explanation for it, that he’ll call eventually – they’re brothers after all – that Elena will call too. She says that once they have found a place to stay they’ll send word and that just because they left doesn’t mean they cut them out of their lives.

* * *

 

“She changed her mind a few weeks later when she called asking for help. I told her you wouldn’t care, but she had had hope. Anyway, there you have it Stefan. Now you know. Leave me alone, or I will find a way to hurt you, human or not!” Damon left, closing the door behind him. Caroline came out of his room a few minutes later – _she must have been telling Bonnie what happened_ – and sent Stefan a look of pure disgust he’d never thought to see on the blonde’s face. Stefan can’t move, can’t breathe. He can’t believe what his brother told him just now. He... _God, no wonder he hates me. How could I... I’m so sorry Damon. I... Damn it! I should’ve been there! I should’ve help him! Why did I... How could I think that he ... I should have_ been _there!_ He doesn’t sleep that night; he can’t even stand to sit next to Elena. He doesn’t deserve that happiness. He’s the _monster_ , not Esther. He is. How could he have abandoned his brother to _die_?! _What is wrong with me?_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm in college officially which means I might update sporadically, not that my updates have ever been scheduled or anything. Also Thanks to everyone that gave me kudos or commented. Tell me what you think about the story, also if there is anything you would like to see happen in it.


	14. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damon's story has left both brothers exhausted. Caroline and Elena argue.

Damon closes the door behind him without slamming it and is surprised to discover that he is still relatively calm. As the final click sounds and he sees Caroline’s tear-stained cheeks and Bonnie embracing her, an irrational anger takes hold and he storms towards them. He waits as Caroline stands and holds her eyes to the floor as if afraid of him and the anger turns to fury. He lifts her chin up with one hand, his mind swarmed with thoughts of Ric attacking Liz and blood dripping from her face and _pain_. She still doesn’t look at him though and he sees Bonnie standing as well, her hands twitching at her sides. She doesn’t know what he’ll do next – he’s too angry, too out of control he thinks – and he can’t really blame her for it, _he doesn’t know what to do_.

“Damon?” her voice doesn’t tremble as he had expected, but her nose if stuffy and her words come out muffled and he curses his brother a thousand times over for this, for making her fear him. He tries to calm down, he honestly does, but he is stuck. The fire in his veins too hot, the poison in his mind too intoxicating, he can’t move. Caroline lifts her eyes, blue to blue meeting in a clash he didn’t see coming. He is pushed into motion by it. His hand falls from her chin, limply to his side now, and he stares as she takes a few hiccupping breaths, her eyes filling up with salty water once more. He snaps, fury to rage, and his arms wrap around her, holding on tightly for dear life as she collapses into him, burrowing her face in his shoulder and exhaling in relief. Bonnie enters the bathroom.

“Damon?” she asks again, her tone still confused and her words still muffled, now by his shirt as well.

“Yeah?”

“Are you okay?” she pulls back, gazing into his eyes as if she can see his thoughts, maybe she can. He shakes his head, his throat suddenly blocked by ... _something_ and it takes everything he has not to fall apart into her arms as she did. She nods, more tears falling down her cheeks, and hugs him tighter still. He inhales her familiar scent and his mind quiets down, thoughts of sunlight and laughter and her catching him as he fell, filling it. Rage mellows down to fury which disappears into anger and finally it turns into a sort of bone-deep exhaustion. Caroline lets go and steps back, guiding him to the bed. She smiles shakily at him and leaves the room. Bonnie returns, ready for sleep.

“So he knows now.” She whispers when she sits down next to him. Damon’s head lifts to watch her, involuntary and he frowns, as if not having heard her. Eventually he jerks into a nod. She sits there silently for a few minutes, her hand having reached his and holding it. She ignores the ache of his hold. When he rises, he isn’t sure what for, but he allows her to take control of the actions.

Bonnie coerces him into standing in front of her, pulling at his hands until he is there, looking down. His eyes are a stormy shade of blue, like the sky before a storm, and she worries for him. Her hands lift slowly to his shirt, fingers working around a button, pushing it out of its place and then another and another until they are all opened, her green eyes never leaving his. She has to stand when she pushes the shirt from his shoulders, her hands brushing against flesh and she feels his muscles tremble beneath her touch. The shirt falls to the floor, numb. She watches it, her eyes following the movement with an odd sort of attachment. Bonnie turns her gaze back to him once the movement passes and asks silently whether she can continue.

Damon doesn’t seem to understand her questioning glance initially, but then he lifts a hand to her cheek, angling his head and falling forward, the difference in heights clear in the gesture. His lips catch on hers, but they don’t really move until he feels her gasp as his hand trails down her neck softly. Her lips open, wet, warm breath passing from her into him and he pushes closer, deeper, flesh sliding over flesh and tongue caressing tongue. Bonnie wraps a hand around his back and the other fists into his hair as he pours all his feeling into the kiss, the fear and sadness and anger, the love and happiness and gratefulness, the pain and the joy. They all flow through her and she realizes he isn’t going to last as his hands tremble around her and his legs nearly give out. This day has left him exhausted more than he’d thought possible.

“Damon?” she mumbles, her lips meeting his with each sound. He stops trying to pull her back in. She shifts them around and pushes him gently on the bed, arranges him until he’s laying on it properly. Then the witch takes hold of his belt, undoes it and pulls it open. She pops the button from his pants and pulls the zipper down. He is already half asleep when she struggles to pull the jeans off his legs, but thankfully he is awake enough to rise his hips to aid her. Bonnie throws the pants near his shirt and levitates them both on a chair in a corner as she slips next to him. She watches as his breath deepens and strokes his cheek. He smiles in his sleep, lips curving softly, and she leans up to brush her own mouth over his. Even in sleep he knows to open his mouth and pushes harder. She lays her head on his chest and listens to his heart as she lets consciousness fall away.

* * *

 

“Stefan!”Elena screams, sitting up on the bed, sweat falling down her forehead and down her neck. She‘s breathing hard and fast, chest rising and falling rapidly. She’s had another nightmare, another vision. She uses one hand to steady her breath, pushing on her chest in hopes of calming herself down.

Brown eyes scan the room, but there is no sign of the older vampire and she waits to see if he has heard her. When nothing happens for a few minutes, Elena tries to get up but finds she’s unable to move her legs. She panics, throws the sheet off of her and checks to see if there is anything wrong physically. There is no wound, no mark to even suggest a problem. She bends at the middle, dragging her upper half forward and touches her right leg. She grasps the shin tightly, massaging up and down, but all she feels is a ghost of a sensation. Soon the more she rubs the more she feels. Prickling starts up in her toes, burning hot as it travels upward, reaching her knee. Elena remembers when she used to cut off circulation to her hand from sitting on it while sleeping and experiencing a similar reaction. She doesn’t understand how that can happen with her as a vampire. She switches legs, starting with her calf and the same itchy feeling spreads through the limb. She sits on the bed for a long while until she is confident enough to stand. Her feet hurt as she pushes onto them to walk and her thighs tremble with exertion, the kind she has only ever encountered after a hard cheerleading exercise.

She walks downstairs slowly, hanging onto the banister and praying she won’t fall, brushing her hair away from her face and neck, feeling the strand sticking to the wet skin. She is calm now, watching the door to Bonnie and Damon’s room, her eyes filling with tears as a yawn escapes her mouth. Her heart aches at the thought of Damon though, seeing his blue eyes, pained and shocked during the night of the Ball, seeing his face crumble and fall when she tells him they can no longer be friends. She remembers how angry he was, how hurt the days following their fight, she remembers the fights that continued. Her brown eyes snap from the door and focus back on the stairs, watching her feet stepping down, one at a time. Her vision swirls around herself, her head pounding. She hangs on harder to the banister.

“I shouldn’t have told you!” Caroline’s voice rings through the dizzy spell and Elena stops to listen.

“Yes, you did. I needed to know. But you could have come for me, Care!” her husband’s voice is desperate, his words shaky. She can read the anguish in him as well as she would her own.

“ _You_ don’t call me that! And come get you?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I _tried,_ Stefan! I called you every day for months! You didn’t care enough to keep your phone. How the hell was I supposed to know where you had gone? Ask Bonnie for a locator spell? We were supposed to be friends! Friends don’t find each other with _spells!_ ” Caroline answered, her voice a loud whisper, but the brunette heard her just as well. Elena winced, realizing the blonde had a point. Both Stefan and she had abandoned their friends and family when they left, what neither had thought of then, was how much it would affect them.

“Caroline... I...”

“You what?!” the younger vampire interrupted, her voice rising in volume.

“How was I supposed to know?! I didn’t hear him, Caroline! And I don’t know why!” Stefan argued.

“Suuure!” the young woman scoffed and walked away from the staircase. Elena shakes her head. Even if Caroline was right about some things, there was no reason to attack Stefan like this. If she had a problem with them leaving she should take it up with her. It was her idea to leave after all. “He screamed for you, Stefan! He _screamed_!”

“Maybe it was a spell that prevented it.” The brunette could no longer remain silent. As she spoke the two other turned suddenly toward her. Caroline’s blue eyes darkened in anger at the sight of the other woman.

“Why did you then?” Elena could only shrug. She didn’t know. She wasn’t even sure she had heard Damon scream. “Elena, no offense, but can you leave?” Caroline continued, her fists closing at her sides. She turns away from the married couple, goes to the fridge and takes out a blood bag. She is seconds away from exiting the kitchen when Elena replies.

“If you’ve got a problem with me, tell me to my face.”

“You don’t want me to, trust me.” The blonde responds, through gritting teeth and without moving to face the other.

“Yes, I actually do.” Elena is in front of her now, brown eyes fiery with anger and righteousness. Caroline bites into her cheek hard, enough to draw blood to stop the hurtful words swarming through her mind from coming out. Elena doesn’t let up; she gets closer, putting herself directly in Caroline’s face. Stefan remains in the background somewhere, not saying anything. Even he can feel the charged atmosphere surrounding the two women.

“Elena...” she cautions.

“Come on. I want to know what exactly I’ve done wrong.” The brunette pushes, crossing her arms across her chest, raising her head, jaw sticking out.

“Besides leaving us? Abandoning us? Riding off into the sunset with your boyfriend and forgetting we even exist anymore? What do you want me to say Elena? That you hurt us when you left? Yes you did. You know what else hurt? I would have been alright with you leaving for your own protection, but all threats were gone. You just threw aside a lifetime of memories, a friendship that was supposed to last forever, _your words_ , all for a guy that, want to believe it or not, placed you in danger. I loved you, you were my _best friend,_ I would have died for you. I thought at the very least you cared about me.” Carline’s voice rose higher, her eyes tearing up until the wet, salty droplets fell down her face, lined her lips and slid further down, disappearing underneath her collar. Elena was silent, her own eyes filling up with water. “You have no idea what happened to me a few month ago! You have no idea what I had to go through! I needed my family because it _hurt_. God, Elena, you have no _idea_ how much it hurt. You don’t know what Damon went through either. Sure, he told you Stefan, but you can’t understand how painful it was to be there, to _see_ him struggle every _second_ to just open his eyes in the morning. You want to know what happened to us while you were gone? You ‘need’ to know, Stefan? You don’t have the _right_! You _lost_ that when you left.” Her breath was coming in sharp burst of air, her chest heaving with exertion. Her cheeks reddened with anger and her eyes were bloodshot by now, tears never ending it seemed. Stefan hung his head is shame, he agreed with her. They had been wrong. Elena bit her lip and closed her eyes, fighting the tears and losing horribly as they fell.

“Care... I’m so sorry.” The woman whispered.

“Well, I’m not. At least I now know who matters. You know why you are wondering what happened to us this year? Because you _weren’t there_. That’s what you’ve done wrong. That’s –“

“Love, maybe you should come help me instead.” The British accent broke the rant, blue eyes darting to her lover. Klaus was holding on tightly to the banister, pale and his arm trembled. He was still weak. Caroline bit her tongue on her next words and walked away from Stefan and Elena.

“Caroline!” Elena clasps her wrist. “I had another vision. It was about Rebekah.” She continues, gazing at Klaus as well. “Esther is going to take her soon, if it hasn’t already happened.” Caroline is silent and stationary for a few minutes. She then swiftly walks up the stairs, takes the hybrids hand in hers and leads them both back inside their bedroom. Elena falls to her knees, sobs wrecking her body. Stefan joins her, holding her as he himself struggles to calm.

* * *

 

Olive skin in pale candlelight, soft uttered words in an empty chamber, dark eyes flashing pure white as the ritual grows stronger. She remembers all this as she recites her protective spells, her mother’s power a force to be reckoned. She is ready for the next ingredient when the flames burst blue and fall to ashes. She curses, slamming her open palm onto the hard cold stone she sits on. Her palm hurts, the stone now splattered with the blood seeping from the cut.

“No luck yet?” his voice is grating, overwhelming her senses and wrapping her mind like a vice. She shrugs, not wanting to give him the satisfaction once more. He is drawing power from her, stealing it. Of course her own Magick would revolt against the abuse it is facing. She stares into his eyes, mismatched green and brown and shudders as he grins. She hates this, _him_. _She needs him_.

“I’ll get it done, don’t you worry, Mon chérie.” She is sarcastic, her words poison, dripping with acid. He grins wider, sitting down besides her and snatching her hand in his. She watches repulsed as he licks the blood clean and spits it somewhere behind them. She wants to slap him. “Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?

“Worry you not.” He answers, flippant and waving her away with a hand.

“What of the witch?” she queries next, licking her lips. She can’t understand the witch. Then again Esther does resemble her mother, both wanting to kill their children.

“She is with the wolves.” She also doesn’t understand why the werewolves were needed. But it is not her place to question it. All she wants is her revenge against the hybrid. So if she must wait for a while longer, bide her time and work with a dumb human and a deranged witch, so be it. She will win in the end and they all will taste her fury. The English have a saying. “Hell hath no fury for a woman scorned” it says. She stands and dusts herself off, leaving him behind. If he thinks he can control her… _well, we shall see, won’t we?_

[“There was…” she begins her tune. “… a house, in New Orleans…” she continues, her voice echoing through the cemetery. She smiles as she sings, her mind flashing memories of her mother – harsh words and heavy palms – of her lover – bleeding, crying before Klaus Mikaelson as the hybrid tore into him – and the songs ends softly, with a tear and a whispered “... They call the Rising Sun, and it’s been the ruin of many a poor girls…” the tear slides down and crashes onto the earth, the sound loud in her mind. “And God, I know I’m one.”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmyecoW67kg)

 


	15. The Curse

Caroline had entered the bedroom by slamming the door behind her, her wrist hurting from the force. “How did this happen?! When did my _best friend_ become Princess Elena the Great?! God _damn it!_ ” she kicked the edge of the bed, hurting her foot, cursed again and then collapsed onto the mattress, sprawled out. There were tears running from her eyes, falling down her cheeks and getting lost into the roots of her hair, itching. Her fingers twitched to wipe them away, but she was too focused to keep the sobs from bursting out of her mouth by biting her lips to really care about it. She wasn’t even aware that Klaus was with her, not truly, until she felt him sit next to her. She turned her face slowly towards him, her eyes already puffy and red and sniffled, bit her lip harder and then she curled around his form, her head in his lap, soaking his pajama pants with tears.

“I didn’t mean to say those things.” she whispered after a few seconds, her voice muffled. “I just wanted them to understand that … that we got hurt when they left. I … I really did miss them, Nik.” she continued, her voice fading as she spoke. He stayed silent – there was really nothing he could tell her to help – he hadn’t had friends until last year – and caressed her hair, running his fingers through the blonde strands as she cried. He had called Kol immediately after closing the bedroom door because even though Caroline had been too distraught to hear her, Elena did issue a good warning. Kol told him he’ll visit Bekah and call back. Klaus was torn. On one hand he wanted to be there for his lover since Caroline was going through a lot right now especially considering she hadn’t gotten completely over the rape. On the other hand he needed to see his sister, to make sure she was safe. It hit him hard, the urge to have Rebekah in his arms at that exact moment.

“Nik? Is Rebekah okay? I think Elena said something about it.” Caroline was looking up at him, her blue eyes reflecting worry. He smiled, kissed her forehead and told her what he knew. He was so proud that even in the moments when she couldn’t deal with her own problems she still took care of others. It was one of the many things he loved about her.

“I think you should sleep now. I know you didn’t get much rest last night.”

“But… but you’re not healed yet and I-“

“Caroline, love, I am fine. A bit tired, but that will pass once I’ve had more blood. You rest. I’ll deal with the others.” he whispered, reassuring, and slowly stood up. He took the bed-sheet and put it over her and kissed her lips. He closed the door with a swift click behind him and made his way to the bathroom down the hall.  Once he was done showering and brushing his teeth he went down. He needed to see the aftermath of Caroline’s tirade.

Klaus was not sure what he would find when he reached downstairs, but seeing Stefan and Elena at the table having breakfast was not among the theories he had come up with. They didn’t look happy in any way, and by the emptiness in their eyes they were haunted by what the blonde vampire had told them, but they were eating and they did not appear sorry. The hybrid frowned, walked toward the fridge where they kept the blood bags and took one out, put half in a mug to heat up and the other half he drank right there. He never once took his eyes off of the married couple, even when he grimaced at the awful taste of cold bagged blood.

“Stefan?” he began once he threw away the empty transfusion. “May I speak with you?”

Stefan was confused for a few moments, his mind a whirlpool of thoughts, each one more guilty than the other, but once he understood the meaning of what he’d been told he rose off his chair and, with a hardly felt affectionate kiss to the top of his wife’s head, he went to Klaus. The two men went inside the study where Klaus closed the door. Stefan wondered whether he was supposed to sit down, but chose to stand as he saw the hybrid do the same.

“What is it?” he asked. He still couldn’t concentrate much and he was sure his hands were shaking with the amount of anger he felt directed at himself.

“I understand the need to know what changed since you’ve left-“

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“ the younger man interrupted.

“ _But…”_ Klaus returned to what he was saying. “…but I would like to warn you that if you try the same thing with Caroline I will not be held accountable to my actions. If I hear you asked her what happened to her this past year I will make you watch as I tear out your wife’s heart and _feed_ it to you before I kill you. She still hasn’t recovered and neither of us needs to be reminded of it either.” he threatened, pleased to see the life drain out of Stefan’s face as the words registered in the vampire’s mind. Stefan nodded. Klaus smiled pleasantly.  “I’m glad you understand.” and then the hybrid left to retrieve his mug. He was already feeling better, stronger, but it Kol didn’t tell him something soon he might just have a heart attack. 

* * *

 

Damon had expected to wake up as he had done so for the last week, with headaches and a stuffed nose and aching eyes, with a sore throat and muscle pain. He had especially expected it after waking up in the middle of the night to Bonnie’s frantic eyes and a wonderfully cold compress on his forehead having come down with a fever. He remembers Bonnie switching up the material every few hours with another cool one, giving him a pill to take that hurt his throat more than he had thought it would and finally falling asleep sometime at the crack of dawn. As he opened his eyes this morning he had no more fever – he would know because if he did his brains would be boiling along with his eyes – and neither did the usual symptoms manifest themselves. He was surprised to say the least and so he took advantage of it by turning to the witch and giving her a morning to remember. He remembered the scene from last night as well and he mourned the lost opportunity. He was about to remedy that.

Bonnie was still sleeping when he began peppering kisses down her neck, sucking on the pulse point with a near sadistic irony, relishing the deepening of her breath and the tiny gasps she gave him. He made his way down, licking to her chest and felt her rumble of pleasure as he mouthed along the edge of her nightgown’s cleavage. He took one nipple in-between his thumb and fore finger, rolling it as his mouth enclosed over the other one over her clothes. She groaned then, writhing softly and he smirked, continuing his journey. He took great care in lifting her legs, holding them bent at the knees as he deposited one over his shoulder and the other he kept in his grip. His other hand lifted her nightgown, bunching it up at Bonnie’s waist. He pressed a kiss to her ankle, then to her calf then he sucked a path up her thigh and stopped when he reached her panties as her left hand tangled in his hair suddenly.

“Damon” she whined when he stopped, thrusting her hips, hoping to convince him or to get it done herself. He put her leg down, smiled and stretched out on top of her, stopping with his face above hers, resting his weight on his elbows. She smiled as well, her eyes sleep glazed and filled with lust, her hands clasped at the base of his neck, pulling him down. He only pecked her on the lips quickly.

“Morning breath.” he sang as he went back down, swiping two fingers over her clothed pussy. She twitched, moaned and spread her legs wider. “Asshole” she gasped when he took off the offending garment and circled her clit with his tongue. He chuckled, the vibrations causing her to squirm and ground down on him. He wasted little time after that, keeping his tongue where it was, continually flicking over her as he let his index finger enter her slowly. Bonnie clutched the sheets, bit her bottom lip and thrust her hips up again. Her head fell to the side when he added another finger and she let go when he took them out and licked them clean. As he was groaning at her taste, Bonnie switched their positions, holding his wrists at his side as she kissed him fully on the lips. He didn’t seem to care much about morning breath when her tongue was tracing every inch of his mouth and he was still distracted when she pulled down his boxers and licked a line straight up from the base of his cock to the tip, swirling around the head and then engulfing him completely in her  mouth. He grasped her hair with one hand and arched his neck as he ground into the pillow with a moan of her name. She bobbed her head a few times, letting her teeth graze the sensitive skin softly then sucked hard.

Not one to be defeated, Damon pulled her up by her forearms with trembling hands and kissed her again, sliding back on top of her. The game continued for minutes, each trying to get the other one to give in until they both reached an accord and as Bonnie sank onto Damon’s cock and he gripped her hips and sat up, his mouth capturing a nipple, they each surrendered to the other.

* * *

 

“Stefan?” Elena called out to the empty parking lot. She had followed him outside after he had returned from his discussion with Klaus with a pale face and troubled eyes. She couldn’t find him now, despite having been only a few steps away from him. “Stefan!” she tried once more, turning around. As she twisted back, her eyesight got blurry for a few seconds and she swayed on her feet, reaching out a hand for help. Stefan rushed to her then, catching her in his arms and lowering them both to the ground.

“Elena?” he asked, searching her face, worry in his voice. His green eyes met her brown one and she attempted to smile, but the sky was swimming above her and she had trouble drawing in air. “What is it? Are you alright?”

“Yeah… I think so. Just a bit dizzy.” she said, panting. Breathing was getting harder to maintain and she was getting scared. She knew she didn’t really need the air, she was technically dead, but she should at least be able to breathe if she wanted to. Now she could not. It terrified her. “Ste-fan.” she gasped out his name. “I can’t…” a few heavy breaths. “I can’t breathe.” Elena whispered, drowsiness overtaking her awareness.

“Elena? Elena!” Stefan yelled when her eyes began closing. She struggled to stay awake, but her body didn’t seem to understand what she wanted and before she knew it she had fainted. He watched as her head went limp along with the rest of her. Fear gripped his heart again and he did the only thing he could think of. Stefan called out to his older brother.

“DAMON!”

The man jumped suddenly, his leg slipping on the shower floor and if it hadn’t been for his – _for Bonnie, she’s not your anything yet. Wait, “yet”? –_ he would have fallen surely. He groaned in aggravation, a frown on his face and the suds from the shampoo falling into his eyes caused him to yelp in pain. He rinsed quickly, threw on a pair of sweats that he wouldn’t have had had Bonnie not bought them a few weeks after he moved in and soon enough he was running down the stair to reach his brother. He ignored, for now at least, the anger and betrayal he felt towards the younger man. Stefan seemed afraid.

“Stefan?” he called out from the front door, scanning the parking lot.

“Damon, here.” he heard Klaus say and saw them. Elena was unconscious again, Stefan holding her in his arms and Klaus was leaning over trying to get the younger vampire to get up. Damon approached cautiously.

“What happened?”

“Stefan said she had trouble breathing and then fainted.” the hybrid explained and Damon had to take a couple of seconds to sort through his confusion. As a vampire he hadn’t needed to breathe but he can’t say he was ever forced not to, so he wasn’t sure how one should react to it. “Stefan won’t take her back inside. Also Bonnie needs to check this.” the hybrid continued. Damon nodded and waited until Klaus went back inside.

“Stefan?” he began, unsure what he _could_ say. “Stef, listen to me little brother. Elena is going to be alright, okay?” he told the man, in the gentlest voice he could muster. Stefan seemed to hear him as he shook his head, tears gathering in his eyes. “Yes, she will. But you need to bring her inside so Bon can heal this.” It was a lie. Bonnie had clearly said there was nothing she could do about this curse, not until Esther or whoever cast it was dead, but his brother needed the reassurance now, not the truth. He watched the brown haired man nod this time, and he helped him stand when he saw his struggling. Stefan’s arms were shaking.

“Damon? What if we can’t beat this in time and she… and she d-“

“We will.”

Stefan let himself be led inside the mansion, followed his brother into the living room and did as Damon said when the man told him to lay Elena down on the couch. When the blue eyed man returned with two glasses of bourbon, Stefan didn’t even hesitate to down one of them. Bonnie came with her hair still wet, running down the stairs, her grimoire held tightly to her chest. He stood on the side as Bonnie did her check over and breathed relieved when the witch admitted that while Elena had been affected by the curse, it could not kill her by cutting off her air. Caroline arrived around the time Bonnie began explaining how the curse manifested itself.

“Basically what happens is this: it draws upon experiences of other people and inflicts them onto the victim, in this case Elena. Now I should be able to find out from who this one came from. Maybe it’ll tell us who we’re up against.”

“So what’s up?” Caroline whispered to Damon, stealing a swig from his glass of bourbon. He looked at her before answering and was shocked when he saw that her eyes had gone red from crying and that she had tear lines down her cheeks. She shook her head before he got the chance to ask what the matter with her was and then she pointed to Elena.

“The curse made her stop breathing or something. Judgy is…” he gazed toward the witch, frowned and then knelt behind her to catch her as she fell backwards. “Bonnie! Bon? What is it? Who was it?”

“I” she stopped, gulped, closed her eyes and then looked back at him. “It’s us. She’s feeling what _we_ went through.”

“What?” Caroline exclaimed confused.

“It makes sense now. She first “fell into a coma”, then she couldn’t stop shivering because she was cold and afraid, exactly how Klaus felt when he found you Care, then she couldn’t walk and now … now she can’t breath and she’s unconscious. Is that how you described the beginning?” Caroline didn’t answer, she could not. Elena was reliving their worst hits from last year. It made her sick to her stomach. She had wanted Elena there, but only because she had needed her best friend. She didn’t wish this fate on anyone, not even her worst enemy.

“Oh God.” she mumbled. “Bonnie, stop it!” she continued, reaching for the witch. “Please stop it, she can’t… she- Stop it!” she screamed, holding onto Bonnie, begging. But there was nothing she could do about it.

“I would. You know I would. Care, it’s lessened. It is only a shadow of what we went through. It’s not as bad.”

“But Bonnie, you don’t know how _bad_ it was. Even a shadow can …” she cut herself off. “Try!”

“What are you talking about Caroline?” Stefan asked. Klaus had returned and heard the whole discussion, and while his threat stood, now the man had the right to know.

“I … I can’t. I was raped Stefan. And… and it was really bad. Bonnie _please_.” she begged again. She was surprised she wasn’t crying again, but she supposed that at some point you run out of tears. She wished she could cry right now. She finally understood what Damon had meant when he told her last year after Katherine’s death that he was thankful he could cry at last. It was horrible feeling like this and being unable to show it, to let some of it out.

“You’re telling me she’s being raped?!” Stefan screamed, but didn’t move from where he was at the touch of his brother hand.

“No. Not really. Just feeling how it felt, to a smaller degree.” the caramel skinned woman explained, her voice and body shivering. There were tears in her voice and if Stefan had the ability he would want to comfort her as well, but he didn’t. He was about to shake Bonnie to just _do something_ when Elena woke up. She seemed confused, her eyes shifting from one person to the other at first, then she yelled and clutched her abdomen.

“Elena? What is it?” Klaus ask, seemingly the most level headed one among them.

“It’s like someone scratched me from here” she showed her ribcage and Caroline flinched. “to here.” she then pointed to her thighs.

“Does it hurt?” the hybrid continued, seeing the woman grimace.

“Not really, it’s just strange.” she answered. Stefan rushed to her side, kissed her on the lips and held her tightly. Caroline sighed, and fell back in her seat while Damon pulled Bonnie down onto the chair he had sat on. Klaus took the blonde’s hand and pecked her on the knuckles.

“Thank God.” the witch breathed when the phone rang. Klaus answered.

“Nik, she’s not here. I checked everywhere and I can’t find her. I called Elijah too and he’s coming with Finn tomorrow. We need to find mother now. I’ll track those wolves and tell you where to meet me.”

* * *

 

“What the bloody hell is going on?” Rebekah Mikaelson spoke, ire in her tone and anger in her eyes, covered by a blindfold.

“Not to worry, Rebekah.” someone said, a voice the Original recognized. Her mother’s. “We’re having a family reunion.” the blindfold was torn off and she saw she was in the middle of a hexagram. She tried to move, but she found she could not.

“Don’t struggle, you’ll only hurt yourself dear.” a male voice added and she turned to look at him.

“We need to begin cleansing the area.” another woman spoke and from the power emanating from her, Rebekah knew who she was. She was the witch of the Old Powers, a Voodoo Priestess based on her bone necklace. The Original shivered when the Voodoo practitioner started singing.

[“Hammerman you make me dull” she began in a low voice. “I’m going to the Carnival.” she continued, emphasizing the last word as she put together her ingredients. “I’ll sit beside and watch them play” she cut into her palm, gathering the blood into what Rebekah recognized as a cut skull for a bowl. “It’s gonna be an awful day.”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i_pqzz6oGk)

 


	16. Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caroline explains her rape, something crucial happens to Damon and Elena gets a message from "him" - the enemy.

“Klaus? Klaus?! Was that Kol? What did he say? Nik!” Caroline ran out after the hybrid. The man had answered the phone a few minutes earlier and before anyone knew what had happened, Klaus had thrown the phone somewhere in from of him and turned around. He then walked out, pulling the door nearly out of its hinges and stalked outside. Caroline got up quickly and ran after him. She found him just outside, punching a hole into the wall of the mansion. There was a large enough gap inside the concrete that Caroline worried soon he’d be able to punch through it. She watched the man she loved struggle for a few minutes, unsure what she could do to help him, then she sprang into action at the first drops of blood. She came behind him softly, her arms wounding around him and valiantly but unsuccessfully trying to immobilize him. He struggled, jerking in her grasp and attempting to punch the wall still.  He began hiccupping his breaths, the air barely reaching his lungs as he fought the shower of tears threatening to come forth. He struggled against her for a few more minutes until he stopped, his head bowed staring at his slowly healing knuckles. He clenched his fists and lost the battle as a sob escaped him. He let his weight sink into Caroline’s body and she turned him to face her. He buried his face in her shoulder and cried quietly. 

“Nik, we’ll find her.” He must have heard her, but he gave no response. 

Caroline waited until she felt the stream of water stop soaking through her shirt before she put a hand on his cheek gently. He lifted his head at the unspoken request and, though his eyes were reddened, he was not crying anymore. Instead his jaw clenched tightly and his eyes darkened. He was angry again.

“Nik, before you do something stupid, wait for Kol.” She whispered and she felt him attempt to struggle to get free, but it was half-hearted at best as he did not manage to dislodge her hold. “He said he’ll call you when he finds a lead.” The blonde continued in a soothing voice. The hybrid nodded, but he was tense still, she could feel it in her hold. 

“Fine.” He spoke and his voice sent shivers down her spine. She had only once before heard that voice. It was a cold, clipped tone, calm in a way that scared her. 

“Promise you’ll tell us when he does.” He already turned to stalk inside, but she shook him and repeated. “ _Promise me, Nik.”_ He said nothing, but he did face her to plant a kiss on her forehead. She understood what it meant, he promised.

* * *

 

The silence was deafening as no one dared speak out after Klaus stormed off with Caroline hot on his trail. Stefan had heard what Klaus did, that Rebekah had been taken, but he hadn’t yet had the chance to share the news.

“Well, that was dramatic.” Damon commented as Bonnie put Klaus’s phone onto the glass high-end table next to her, but his tone was strange, a mixture between heart-gripping worry and nail-biting curiosity. It was such an odd combination of emotion that translated into his tone that Bonnie did not slap him as Stefan had seen her do whenever he made a flippant comment. The younger vampire sat down next to his wife as he processed the information. _Rebekah has been taken by Esther_ repeated in his mind, the voice he truly doubted was his conscious since it sounded like his brother getting louder and louder until he couldn’t help blurting out abruptly into the quiet room.

“Rebekah has been taken by Esther.” He spoke and immediately he saw Bonnie pale and begin shaking at Damon’s side as the man turned sharply to stare at his brother. Damon didn’t say anything, his mind reeling. He knew what Rebekah meant to the hybrid – hell, he’s know what she meant since they’d been enemies – so it was clear what Klaus was going through outside. 

“What else?” a soft voice rang out, not Bonnie’s, and the man looked confused as Elena sat up and asked her husband. He gazed into her eyes, his own disbelief clear in his green orbs. She smiled tentatively and nodded to urge him on. _Why would she care, didn’t she hate Barbie Klaus?_ But Damon knew better than to speak his mind like that. 

“Kol said he’ll track the werewolves and tell Klaus to when to meet up so they can find Esther.” Elena squeezed his hand in her own dainty one in reassurance. 

“Does you head still hurt?” the witches winded words threw everyone. Elena looked at her, smiling softly as if she knew that Bonnie had forgiven her with this question. Bonnie realized what Elena thought – they had known each other since kindergarten if not earlier still – but she didn’t have the strength to start another fight, did not have the energy for it. She _hadn’t_ forgiven Elena and she was not sure she ever truly will. Too much had happened. But she did _care_ about the woman.

“A bit. What did Caroline mean?” 

“She did say she was _raped_. Is there another definition where that means she sold candy canes?” Damon’s sarcastic and angry remark rang throughout the room and while Bonnie sent him a looked that said calm down, she didn’t do anything else. She agreed with him.

“I… no, that’s no-“

“Really? Because it was clear what she said, Elena.” He continued with no remorse even as doe eyes filled with tears and Stefan’s green gaze turned into a glare. He didn’t care enough now to measure his words. That question had been idiotic. They should give him a prize for not saying it like _that_ , if anything. 

“I… I know, but … I mean… _how_? When? What happened?” she answered his unspoken inquiry.

“Shouldn’t you ask her that?”

“Shouldn’t you ask me that?” Two people spoke at the same time, one male – Damon – and the other female. Caroline entered the room, led Klaus upstairs and then took a seat onto one of the empty armchairs. She saw Bonnie’s eyes turn to her, asking her if she could do this, if she could tell this story, a story they hadn’t even heard because they knew what it meant, how it hurt and because they already knew what had happened – in the abstract, but more than enough for them. Because they’d dealt with the fall out just as painfully. 

“Care… I didn’t … I mean-“

“It’s fine Elena.” Caroline sounded tired, exhausted beyond belief and the witch grimaced, knowing what that felt like.

“You don’t have to tell it, Care.” The witch told the other one, but the blonde shook her head and stared straight into misty brown eyes. Elena was taken aback by the look, but Stefan squeezed her body closer to his and she regained her confidence. She stared right back, unwavering.

“I do.” Caroline spat out as if the words hurt her tongue. She refused to tear her gaze from the married couple, but she knew Damon was looking at her concerned. 

“What happened?” this time it was Stefan.

“I was walking home one night, after you’d left. I’d just broken up with Tyler after realizing it wasn’t working and deciding to give Klaus a chance. I was knocked out and dragged into the woods near the sidewalk. Not very far, but enough so I wouldn’t be seen or heard by humans.” She began. Her hands were in her lap, fingers twisting nervously, voice gradually beginning to shake as she spoke. There were tears in her eyes, but they didn’t fall down her cheeks. Elena was still gazing into her eyes, but it was as if Caroline suddenly couldn’t see anything but what she was telling. “When I woke up I was being thrown onto the ground on my face. I couldn’t move. A man – when I say man I mean that in the loosest definition of the word – turned me on my back and when I looked into his eyes I was so terrified I fainted. I can’t describe how much _hatred_ I saw in them. When I woke up, he had two humans with him and they beat me up and strip me and then he gets on top of me and he… Trotter… he changes into this… this _creature_. He –“ she paused, dragging in a deep breath of fresh air, closing her eyes tightly and allowing a few tears to roll free. When she opened her eyes next, Elena could feel the pain and the fear in her gaze. “Once he changed, he raped me. I … don’t ask me for details… I- I can’t …” she stopped talking. “I wish I could tell you how he forced my legs apart and how he… he-“

Damon rose from his place near Bonnie – Bonnie who was still trembling from magical exhaustion, but who knew she didn’t need him then – and gathered the blonde in his arms, whispering in her ear softly and quietly so that no one else but she heard his words. Caroline wasn’t shivering, but her muscles were tense as if at any moment she was ready to pounce. She relaxed in Damon’s hold, her arms going around his waist and her face burrowed in his chest as she drew shaky breaths of air and sobbed. She might not be able to go into details, but she still relived them all the same. Though she didn’t look, she was sure Elena was crying as well, probably safe in her husband’s arms, but Caroline couldn’t find it in herself to care. She didn’t need her pity or her remorse, she just needed them to stop asking questions so she could heal. Then she remembered something she wanted to add, pushing Damon away – but not too far – gently so she could speak.

“I fought it with everything I had and I couldn’t stop it.” She said. “I begged, I screamed. There was nothing that stopped him. So at one point, when it got so painful I lost my voice from it, I just… blacked out I suppose. I just … stopped. But Klaus had already heard it by then so there wasn’t much more to endure. He saved me. And Bonnie and Damon and mom too.” Her voice was strong this time. She had a point she wanted Elena and Stefan to understand, something she could not and would not hold back. “They were there when I tried to scrub my skin raw and when I burned myself trying to shower and when I had night terrors. They were there when I retreated into my mind because I couldn’t take it anymore. Bonnie… Bon-“ she paused this time, unsure, asking the witch for permission. Bonnie gave her a watery smile, more saddened than anything. “Bonnie got hurt. I pushed her away and she cracked her skull and she ended up in a coma from where Trotter drew power. Mom almost died because of me. Damon almost died. I know he tried to get you to come, I heard him calling, _every day_ , I heard him. And you never came, never answered. So ask me again why I can’t … why we can’t just forgive and forget.” 

Damon wondered if at the end of this speech she would just storm out, but he was surprised when she just buried herself back inside his arms. He looked at Bonnie, his eyes wide and was about to ask her a question when he began coughing. He cursed in his mind as he pushed Caroline away and keeled over. He couldn’t breathe at all, the coughs not allowing any air into his lungs and tears gathered in his eyes. Bonnie slid off the chair and tried to sooth him, but it didn’t work. He struggled to breathe, gasping and writhing as his girlfriend – and it occurred to him this was the first time he referred to her as such – muttered spell after spell in order to help and that his best friend was trying her best as well. He even vaguely heard his brother yelling in concern and Elena as well, but his eyes were getting blurry and the room began spinning and then everything burst into shades of white as his body seized up.

Bonnie pulled Caroline away when she saw Damon’s eyes rolling at the back of his head and just in time too as his spine bent sharply off the floor, arching up, his hands contorting. She recognized the seizure but she didn’t know what to do, except wait. Klaus entered the room in a hurry the moment Damon’s body relaxed and she crawled next to him. Bonnie pulled him to her, his head in her lap as she held onto him, her heart beating so fast it hurt her chest. For a few seconds she held onto him, before she let go to check and see if he was alright. That was when she noticed that he wasn’t breathing.

“Damon?” she asked, her voice trembling. She bent to hear his heart, but there was only silence. She chocked on her next breath. “Damon!” she yelled, shaking him, then bending down, pinching his nose and exhaling in his mouth deeply. She then let his head gently fall to the floor and she put her hands on his chest and pumped five times, repeating the process again and again and again, until Caroline wrapped her hands around her, forcing her to stop. Fifteen minutes had passed. Rationally, Bonnie realized that even if by some miracle Damon awoke now, he would face brain damage, but still she struggled against her friend’s hold to try and revive him. She burst out in a heart wrenching sob when she realized she couldn’t even revive him with magic this time, she no longer had a hundred dead witches helping. And she doubted they would have even if they were here. Caroline held onto her harder. 

“What the fuck happened?!” an angry voice broke through their grief as Damon sat up abruptly, eyes wide open and alert, clutching at his chest. Bonnie was shocked, unable to even move briefly before she threw herself in his arms and then pulled back, hit him hard over the chest, then hugged his tightly. 

“Damon!” Caroline exclaimed, her mouth in a grin as she jumped over the two. Klaus smiled for a few seconds, before his sister’s face appeared in front of his eyes again. Stefan crawled over to the heap on the living room floor and wrapped his arms around his brother as well, much to Damon’s surprise. They stayed like that for a few minutes – a mess of limbs in an almost comical position – until Stefan let go, followed by Caroline. Bonnie remained, her face buried in his neck and his in hers. He didn’t even know what had happened to him, but Bonnie needed him so he was there. That was when he sensed it. He dug his face deeper into her neck, not that she seemed to mind much, and inhaled. _There_! 

He pulled back sharply and Bonnie gasped when she stared at his face. At his very _vampire_ face, fangs sharp in his grinning mouth, eyes bloodshot and with dark veins beneath. He was a vampire again!

“Damon… you… you’re… Oh my God!” She was aware she wasn’t making sense, but she knew he had figured it out by that smile. 

“Klaus…” the man – _vampire_ – began. “Bring me some blood.” His voice shook in joy. “And I’m coming with you to get Rebekah back.” He was a vampire again and the smell of Bonnie’s blood was as intoxicating as ever. He gazed into her eyes, wondering if this changed things. She smiled warmly and stretched over to him, her lips meeting his, and his fangs grazed her bottom lips and a few droplets fell into his mouth but he ignored them in lieu of kissing back with equal need, but they were smiling too widely and there was more teeth than lips in their kisses. 

“Well then, so am I.” Stefan spoke. Klaus nodded his agreement. He had a feeling they would all be coming along and frankly he was glad. He had a feeling that wherever his sister was being held, his mother was there as well. His phone rang on the table and Caroline threw it to him. Kol.

“Nik, I can’t find them.” His younger brother’s voice shook infinitesimally. He cursed and told Kol to get Elijah and Finn and get to the mansion. They needed a location spell then. And an attack plan. He saw Bonnie Bennett give him a nod. He reminded himself he needed to thank them all later. Kol promise he and the other two brothers would be there the next day. Elena screamed.

* * *

 

_Doppelganger… How long has it been, beloved? Do you even know who I am, I wonder? No worries, you will. Now, before you do something foolish like trying to use a spell to find us, allow me to spare you the death toll. Come to the Zorgvlied Cemetery, we’ll be in Paradiso. We will be waiting for you. All of you._

* * *

The voice of the man was grating and Elena couldn’t tell the name of the cemetery if she tried a hundred years, but she did know it was a cemetery with something called Paradiso in it so she told them what she had heard.

“Are you sure we should go?” Bonnie asked when Klaus immediately gave them the location and was already on the way to the front door. He paused in his stride, looking back to see that not even Caroline had followed. In fact she was looking at him with worry. 

“Yes! We knew where Rebekah is now!”

“But what if there are werewolves? You know, beside Esther and their other witch?!” Damon argued and he did raise a good point. They were not ready. Klaus’s resolve flattered. He shouldn’t go in unprepared. They had time, didn’t they? God, he hoped so. He couldn’t lose his sister.

“Fine, we’ll wait for Kol, Elijah and Finn.” Caroline seemed to thank him with her gaze, but he couldn’t pay attention to it now. He was so close and Rebekah was with their _mother_. He feared what she would do. Caroline took his hand. She smiled and then pulled him up the stairs. He let her.

“Judgy, I think you should go to sleep.” A once again vampire Damon said, lifting her up and dashing up the stairs in a flash, throwing her onto their bed, both laughing. 

Stefan turned to Elena, still unsure she could stand on her own, and scooped her up into his arms as well. She burrowed her face in his shoulder, kissing his neck as he took the first step. She tightened her arms around his neck. She nuzzled against him and when he lay her on the bed, she cuddled next to him, her head on his chest.

“We should have never left.” She uttered softly, guilt evident in her voice. “Or at least we shouldn’t have thrown our phone away.” She continued. Stefan opened his mouth to speak, but found he had nothing to say. She was right. They had been wrong, horribly wrong, and selfish. Elena was asleep in seconds, the day having taken its toll on her. He muttered a gentle “goodnight”, but found he couldn’t sleep again. We s _houldn’t have left._

 


	17. Interlude surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie contemplates, burns herself in front of Elijah and Elena's visions get slightly more complicated.

The morning was filled with silence, the quiet stretching over the large terrain surrounding the mansion. Damon was not yet awake and Bonnie looked back at his sleeping form on the bed. He looked peaceful in his sleep, he always did, but this time it surprised her. It was true, she didn’t care that he was a vampire again, she remembered how miserable he had been as a human and she loved him, truly she did, but this brought a bit of an issue for them. Damon had a clear idea of love, one she shared… to a point. He thought love was all consuming and infinite, he thought that it lasted forever and that without it there was nothing left. Bonnie tended to agree to this most times; yes, love was like that, _in the beginning._ But true love, the mature kind, the kind that lasts through fights and time and growing up and old together, _that_ love was not dependent – a person did not need to be and, frankly, _should_ not be, defined by who they love – it was not even necessarily infinite and it most certainly did not hurt. But Damon had never had that. Katherine had given him his idea of love and look how that had turned out! Then he had fallen for Elena – or the _idea_ of her – and that left him shattered. She was not sure whether she truly would refuse turning into a vampire, she hadn’t yet thought about it, but Bonnie knew that if she chose not to, she had to show Damon how to love someone without putting himself second, without turning into a slave to the other. His view on love worked for movies and books – the kind Caroline cried buckets at and she, Bonnie, wolfed down ice-cream like it was air to keep from crying – but real life was harder, and if she died – _when_ she died because even if she chose to become a vampire, death was still as inevitable as ever – Damon needed to be able to live on and be happy without her. _She_ needed him to live on without her.

Bonnie put the thought behind her for now and returned her attention to the pot of steaming coffee she’d just brewed. She turned off the oven, took the pot and poured herself a cup. She was awake, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t be better. She thought back a few minutes ago, back to waking up in her and Damon’s bed, tangled in his arms. She had forgotten for a few seconds that he was a vampire again. She wondered if maybe she had gotten too comfortable with him because he was immediately burying his face in her neck and she didn’t even flinch – though she did realized the danger after – but he surprised her by turning her in his arms and kissing her cheek with a smile. A grin appeared on her face as she poured coffee into the large maroon cup she had taken as her own in this house. She was still smiling when the liquid slid into her mouth and down her throat and then she yelped, having burned herself.

“Fuck, fuck, _fuck!_ ” she muttered, rushing to the sink and turning the faucet on and gathering as much cold water into her hands as she could to sooth the ache. That is how Elijah Mikaelson found her, bent over the sink, pouring water into her mouth and spilling a large amount of it over her front, in her Harry Potter pajamas – Caroline’s birthday present from two years ago, _haha, very funny_ – and cursing in between the drinking. She wished she could say that she didn’t care what he thought, that she honestly wasn’t affected by the look of – hilariously serious – concern on his face, but she would be lying and no matter how much time she spent with Damon lately, she was not a liar… usually. _Okay, so there was that one time when I lied to Elena, but that was different… and alright I might have deflected when Caroline asked me if her outfit was fine that other time, but still. I don’t make it a habit._

“Ms. Bennett, are you alright?” his voice washed over her, the deep tone colored with amusement making her cringe. She missed the concern.

“Yup!” she chirped, but then muttered another _shit!_ when she took another sip of coffee and it still burnt. He didn’t laugh though and for that at least she was grateful. She looked at him over the rim of her mug, her green eyes taking in his new suit – always with the suits, huh Elijah? – and then lowered it. She pushed it away from herself, away from her reach so she would not burn her tongue again. She hates the numb feeling currently resting on the appendage, the slight tingling.

“May I help you?” he continued, lifting a hand to her. She shook her head, eying the offending mug of coffee sitting innocuously on the flat surface and turned away from the counter, taking a seat at the dining table instead. She then nodded to him to sit as well. He acquiesced and sat down. 

“I see you’re early.” Bonnie commented. Klaus had told them last night that his siblings would arrive sometime later today, but he had made it seem as though it would be night. 

“Yes, I decided against hearing Kol antagonizing Finn. It is times like these that I miss having Reb-“ he cut himself of at the loud scream from upstairs. Bonnie jerk on her seat, jumping slightly at the high pitched sound. Elijah rose slowly and stalked up the stairs with every bit the grace of a panther – and God, how delirious with sleep is she to make these comparisons?

“Are you coming, Ms. Bennett?” he inquired and she stood up quickly, walking after him.

* * *

 

 _Night. Of course, it had to be night!_ Thought the woman, hazarding a look behind her, struggling to see the people chasing her. _Is it even people?_ She stopped in front of the sign saying _Welcome to Mystic Falls_ and took a deep breath. She brushed her long brown hair out of her face and scrubbed her eyes of exhaustion. She didn’t even know who was after her, but considering the nightmare she had two nights ago, she’d rather not risk it. She heard footsteps and her head snapped back to alertness, her back straight. How was this possible? She knew, _knew_ , she had at least a few hours’ worth of head start! Was this another vampire? She gasped when she sensed the speed the creature was rushing at her with. It was faster than a vampire. She resumed her mad dash. 

_Damon! I need to get to Damon._ She repeated like a mantra in her mind, the concrete shifting into earth as she entered the forest and the night sky replaced with tall trees. She was careful to not trip over overgrown roots or stray branches, but nothing could have prepared her for what happened next. 

She breathed a sigh of relief when she reached the clearing. From there, there was a matter of seconds to reach Damon’s house, she could actually see the Boarding House already. But before she could take one more step forward, something wrapped around her ankle and pulled hard. She fell, tumbling to the floor and smacking her jaw on a rock, cutting herself. The cut healed instantaneously, but she could feel her body being dragged backward. There was dirt getting into her mouth and she could feel her nails breaking when she tried to pull herself away from whatever had caught her. She almost was afraid to look back, but she did.

“What the fuck?!” she screamed as she recognized a tongue, too long, too odd. She pushed back the nausea – Who the fuck thought this thing up?! – and bent to her feet, taking the tongue between her hands and trying to untangle it. She was hit with another wave of nausea when the slime and overall grossness registered, but she just dug her broken nails harder into the flesh until she drew blood. She felt the organ twitch in pain, but it only let up a bit before it tightened again, this time taking her hands as well. 

She was seconds away from screaming for help – god, when did I become so pathetic? – but the man stepped into the moonlight, his aged features highlighted by the white light. She didn’t know whether to start laughing or crying. She'd never seen him before, but he was just an old man. She looked at her hands and ankle and amended her statement. _An old man with a seriously fuck_ _ed_ _up tongue._

“What do you want?” her voice echoed throughout the clearing. He remained quiet. Then, just as she was about to huff in frustration and wrench herself from his hold, he grinned. She shuddered upon seeing that smile. She had faced Klaus, she had faced childbirth, she had face the death of her family and yet nothing chilled her more than seeing that. It was cold, too inhuman. It left her reeling in shock. _That_ is when she screamed, but he tugged her to him and then slapped her with more force than she had thought possible. She bit her tongue from the hit, her cheek swelled and throbbed in pain and she felt one of her teeth falling. She turned wide eyes to him. 

“What do you _want?!_ ” she yelled. He answered nothing, just stood there with his cruel, mechanical, maniacal grin and creeped her out. Then he groaned, a loud animalistic noise, bent forwards with a sharp yelp and she watched horrified as his spine rose through his shirt, the vertebrae straining against the fabric. She heard loud cracking as the spine bent again and then exploded in a mess of blood and skin all over her. She had closed her eyes. 

When she opened them again, there was no old man, there was a thing unlike any she had ever seen before. It was rather small really, if she was being honest, still the length of a human body, but it had a thick tail at the base elongating in a pointed tip, with sharp, long claws and teeth. Razor sharp and glinting in the moonlight. A shiver hit her and she scrambled to get away again.

“Help!” she screamed, her feet kicking and jerking in his hold, but it was too strong. She bit back a cry as he pulled her leg out of her joint, the bone breaking at the odd angle and breaking through the skin of her shin, red gushed in the form of warm blood, painting the forest floor and her screech echoed out into the night. 

“Arghhhh!!” Her mind returned to Damon suddenly, his face flashing in front of her, in the darkness of her lids. She saw his blue eyes and her heart gave a hard tug, she had hurt him too much, for too long. But she would not even have the chance to say her apologies now. She couldn’t move anymore, the creature having ripped through her side with its claws and sunk its teeth into her shoulder as the other limb broke her ribs, but she turned her head to one side, her eyes unfocused but straining to see Damon’s house, praying to see him one last time. The pain was unbearable and –

“ELENA!” Stefan grasped her shoulder and wrapped her up in him, her nose filling with his sweet scent and her face found refuge in his neck.

“Elena!” another voice in the room, Bonnie’s. Elena struggled to lift her eyes to meet those of her former best friend, but even this action hurt too much. Her mind replayed the memory of the thing’s claw drawing closer and closer to her eyes to cut it out that she whimpered. Stefan brought her closer to his body, his lips on her forehead reassuring. She tried to regulate her breathing, calm her pounding heart, but it would not cease its attack on her sternum. 

“Elena? Are you alright?” Elijah’s voice resonated in her mind at last as the Original bend over to check her. She tried to nod, but what came out was a shaky movement of her head neither an agreement nor a negation. Stefan was rubbing up and down her arms, his hands warm on her bare skin. She realized she was sweating, the dampness of her own flesh turning cold in the soft breeze entering through the open window. 

“What did you see this time?” Bonnie asked, concern coloring her voice as she uttered the words. Elena looked at her, touched Stefan’s hand to make him realize she truly was alright now, and then she thought of what she’d seen and felt. 

“I… I don’t know, but I … I think I just … saw Katherine.” She breathed out, the epiphany hitting her full force. “God! What she had to go through! I… No one should have … Oh God…” Bonnie winced. She hadn’t been around then, but she had heard the many nightmares Damon used to have – and still had some night where she would hold him as he shivered and sobbed silently to her chest – about Katherine and she had talked to Liz who’d told her how he had reacted, so she could only imagine the horror, but she _did_ know Trotter. 

“Why… why did I see her? Was she- Ahhh!” a flash of pain shot through Elena stream before she could finish her thought and then _his voice_ again.

_Oh, are you feeling bad for her? You really should… Soon you will_ be  _her. When that last memory has run its course you will be as gone as she_ _is. O_ _nly I can lift the curse… Come to me, lovely._

“Elena!” two people yelling at her as her head pounded was not beneficial, but she could understand their urgency. She put her hand on either side of her forehead and pushed hard, if only to quiet the echoes he left behind. Then she murmured her answer.

* * *

 

Damon was happy. He really was this morning. He was a vampire again, he had a girlfriend he was entirely sure loved him and no one else and he loved her just as much in return, sure there were some problems with Esther and this whole business, but overall his life was good. Hell, even his brother was being nicer somewhat – that is to say he listened to Damon’s warning of not bothering him and when he _was_ around he didn’t try to antagonize him at every step like he used to – enough so to warrant a serious considering of forgiveness maybe… _maybe not yet though, I’ll have to think on it some more…_ So it irked him when he overheard Elena telling Stefan and what sounded like Elijah and Bonnie herself that seeing Katherine’s death would in turn kill her. He hadn’t expected that at all. He didn’t need to be reminded of Katherine and he most definitely did not need to move back to his constant worrying about Elena. He had thought that chapter of his life closed when she and his brother had left. Good to know some things remain the same… he’s still not very self aware.

He was even more surprised when he heard Elijah make several remarks about Bonnie being their strongest and best chance at attacking, but not because he didn’t think the same, but more because he hadn’t thought Elijah did. Pleasantly surprised he should amend. Then though, then came the biggest shock with the Original’s next words.

“In order for you to come truly victorious out of this battle, you will need to bond with one of the vampires. Niklaus is however out of the question, him being a hybrid is too chaotic.” Damon could see in his mind Bonnie thinking about it and weighing the pros and cons of everyone, but before his witch could utter a word, he stepped in.

“I’ll do it. I already know her strengths and weaknesses, plus I am much easier to draw from than any of the Originals and Barbie is too young to help.” He did see this time: the smile spread on her face and she stared into his eyes with unabashed gratefulness and love. “And there’s no way I’ll trust you with her life, Stef.” He added when he saw his brother preparing to speak. The younger Salvatore shut his mouth and turned back to Elena, kissing the back of her hand in reassurance. Bonnie nodded alongside Elijah. Then she walked the few steps separating them and kissed Damon fully on the lips, her smile widening into a grin between their mouths.

Clearly she agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I'm in college I have less time so I'll warn you now, the next update may come in as long as a month from now. I'm sorry. Tell me what you think.


	18. Panic attacks and marriage... What?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damon and Stefan bond and Bonnie figures out the bonding spell.

Damon was bored beyond belief and nothing anything Bonnie said could change it. He wondered if maybe he should try talking to his brother – lately the younger Salvatore had been extra helpful – but the thought of Stefan still caused hairs to stand on end along his whole body. He looked at Stefan's face and he remembered the pain of that knife cutting through his skin and reaching bone; he needed a few breaths before he could even look at the man. And having told him about the whole situation had only made it worse since he'd had to relive it. Damon tried though, as much as he could without causing himself a panic attack. He was at the very least glad that he was a vampire once more, it made things easier – made him feel stronger, less fragile that his mind told him he was most days. Bonnie did help, or she usually would, if she hadn't been spending all of her hours with Elijah. And while he understood why that was, he couldn’t help but feel replaced and alone.

Caroline was worse, she had to deal with _Elena_. He missed his best friend and this made the thought of Ric to resurface. He hadn't even tried to think about it since the man has left more than a year ago, but what could he do now if not think – about _everything_ , no matter how painful. Ric could be dead for all he knew. He hoped he wasn't, but let’s be honest, neither Ric nor Damon have ever been that lucky before.

He stood up, walked two steps and stopped, turned around, walked another two steps and repeated the process. Bonnie still hadn't come out. He sighed, grit his teeth and made up his mind. He walked toward Stefan's room. He needed to talk to someone about something important.

“Damon!”, screamed his… _sister in law_ and he winced. He really didn’t need her shrieking this early into a conversation.

“What? Where’s Stef?”, he tried to appear nonchalant, but his whole body was shaking. Apparently having been human for months means he needs to once again get used to vampirism. He was worse than an addict in withdrawal. Klaus was probably drinking, it smelt like the blood type he usually went for, but Damon had been trying to slowly reacclimatize himself with drinking blood again and so he couldn’t join the hybrid. Not yet at the very least.

“In the bathroom.” The woman said, fingers itching at her thighs. Damon pretended not to notice initially, but the gesture brought back too many memories.

“Is it bothering you that much?” he asked. Elena looked up at him confused and then she reverted her sight onto her jeans covered legs. It hadn’t really, but it would appear it was an unconscious gesture.

“Not really, but I still end up scratching…” she admitted, her tone soft, unafraid. But Damon knew better. She was worried, worried about when she would see Katherine’s death, of when _she_ would die. He tried to tell himself that he didn’t care anymore, but the anger of a few days ago had vanished suddenly, leaving him drained. Too tired to have any kind of reaction, and yet so tired that whatever remnants of what he used to feel for her jumped to surface.

“Elena… we’ll figure it out.” He took her hand in his own as he spoke, effectively stopping her scratching. She nodded, but her doe brown eyes filled with tears and she began shaking in his hold. She was terrified. For the first time since they’d left, Damon was willing to grant Elena the benefit of the doubt as he closed his eyes, inhaled deeply and wrapped her in his arms, squeezing her to his chest. She did not struggle, just went willingly to him, her tears soaking his shirt as they fell freely from her eyes. This was the scene Stefan saw as he exited the bathroom, a towel tight around his waist. He shared a look with his brother over the woman’s shoulder, and as the older Salvatore minutely shook his head, Stefan nodded, turning towards the closet to get dressed.

“Thank you.” She sniffled.

“Are you better? Or should I expect more waterfalls?” he quipped, his tone light and with the slightest hint of irritation. But his eyes were warm and concerned – a look neither had thought would ever again be directed at her. She gave a shaky smile in return and pulled away shaking her head. She wiped her eyes of tears, turning around and exiting the room with a kiss to Stefan’s cheek as he finished putting on his T-shirt. Damon heard the bathroom door from down the hall close and assumed Elena just hadn’t wanted Stefan to know just how afraid she was. He couldn’t blame her.

“Why are you here?” the younger Salvatore found himself asking, holding his breath in anticipation of whatever Damon was going to blame him for. To his surprise the blue eyed man just shrugged and started wandering about the room, holding up Elena’s nightgown, sizing it up before frowning and letting it fall back onto the bed.

“Nothing much. Bon-Bon is still fraternizing so I have nothing to do, figured I’d give forgiveness a try…” He mumbled and Stefan strained his ear to pick up the last bit of the statement. He was shocked at the hesitation Damon was showing him, how entirely unsure he was of himself as he searched the room with his eyes.

“Forgiveness?” Stefan was aware of how distrustful he sounded, but this was a word not in his brother’s usual vocabulary. Then again these past days have thought him he now knows nothing about his brother, maybe never did so he couldn’t really judge.

“Yup, so how do we do this? Braid each other’s hair while singing our pain away?”

“Just how many movies have you seen? What _kind_ of movies have you see?!” Stefan shook his heads bemused. At least Damon wasn’t threatening him or even being mad at all. “I thought you didn’t want to see me at all anymore.”

Damon froze, his hand outstretched to pick up Stefan and Elena’s wedding picture. His fingers twitched and he bit his lip. The younger brother nearly smashed his head into the wall in frustration, why the hell had he asked that, anyway?!

“I didn’t, but Judgy is very annoying when she wants to be.” But his hand was holding onto the picture frame too tightly now that he had grasped it.  And he still hadn’t looked Stefan in they eyes or turned to see him at all.

“So then why are you avoiding looking at me?”

“What are, a scorned girlfriend?!” But the reply was too weak and Damon’s hand had just started trembling minutely. If the other man hadn’t been paying so close attention he would have missed it.

“What is it, Damon?” He knew he shouldn’t have raised his voice as he did when asking the question, but at least those ice blue eyes had met his. And still, there was no answer, just stared at him as if he had just realized there was somebody else in the room. What was going on? “Damon?” he tried again, this time softer. “ _Is_ something the matter?” He watched as his older brother opened his mouth a few times only to close it again as he struggled for words. He wondered if he should say something, but as he didn’t know what, he took a step toward Damon. His eyes widened when  he was the other taking a step back quickly then freezing in his place again as if he hadn’t meant to do that. Something was wrong. “Damon?” He tried again, but this time his brother held up one hand to silence him. It was too late now, Stefan was worried. He repeated his question a few times before stopping abruptly when he was Damon covering his ear.

 Damon couldn’t think, his brother’s voice drowning in his mind, getting louder and louder the more he waited, he had closed his eyes. He couldn’t bear to look at him anymore. He’d been right earlier in avoiding his brother. It _was_ too much. _OH God! I can’t breathe!_ He struggled to inhale, his mind telling him he no longer needs the air rushing in his lungs to survive, but his every instinct telling him he has to inhale. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his whole body shaking and his knees slowly getting weaker as the ir got thinner. He could no longer hear Stefan, but he could see _her_ face, the wide eyes shimmering in joy, her mouth open in a manic smile, her alabaster skin splattered red as her hair with his blood. He couldn’t feel his legs.

Damon fell, his knees buckling beneath him and as he hit the floor heavily, his mind screamed at him in alarm, yelling that he was paralyzed again, that he would never truly heal and that he would never walk again. He tried to inhale again, but his heart stuttered in his chest painfully and his vision blurred so much he barely felt Stefan clasping his shoulder.

Stefan was kneeling before him, his green eyes wide with fear and his mouth moving. He was saying something, speaking to him, but Damon couldn’t see at all now. He thought he saw him mutter “sorry” though before he was hit with a flash of pain, travelling from his knee up to his spine. He screamed, he knew he did, he hadn’t been able to help it, but then the realization hit. He had felt it. _I felt that!_

“Damon…” barely a whisper, but he heard his brother’s voice now. “Damon, breathe. Just breathe with me. Come on, brother, breathe.” Stefan was saying, repeating the same things over and over again until Damon began following the instructions. Until Damon could _breathe_. Neither had noticed the fearful witch in the doorway or the sighing blonde vampire as they looked at each other with a small smile and left the two brothers alone.

“Well, _that_ was something.” Damon whispered, trying to appear unaffected, but failing as his voice came out too shaky and raspy.

“Shut up.” Stefan told him, his own fear shinning through. “What was that?”

“Either I shut op or– “

“Don’t joke now. What the hell happened?!” His younger brother gripped his arm. “Are you alright?” Damon wanted to lie, he wanted to lie _so bad_ but there wasn’t any lie in the world that could make Stefan forget seeing his brother have a panic attack right there in his bedroom. _God, how pathetic I am_ , thought Damon.

“Oh, you know, just a tiny panic attack.” So the truth could work as long as it doesn’t seem like it means much. From the unimpressed and frankly a little constipated look of Stefan’s face, Damon could tell that hadn’t worked as well as he might have wished it did. “It was though. And did you _seriously_ jab your fucking fingers into my knee?!”

“You’ll heal. Why did you just have a panic attack?” Well, Captain Forehead just didn’t give up. Fine.

“I can’t look at you.”

“Yeah, you already said that and then here you are. I doubt that’s –“

“Not like that, you moron. I literally can’t _look_ at you. When I do it makes me want to tear out my own brain just so I wouldn’t see _that_.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, _oh_.”

“Damon… I… I’m sorry. I really am, if I had known I would have never left, but Damon? I really hadn’t heard you! You have to believe me, I hadn’t.” he looked wreaked, just how Damon was feeling.

“Yeah, sure.” He tried to let it go.

“Not ‘yeah, sure’. You need to trust me when I say I would have never let you get _cut in freaking half_!” panic colored his words and Damon had a hard time not doing just that, believing his baby bro. But Stefan had promised many a things in the past and Damon had ended up betrayed every time still.

“I …” he didn’t know what he wanted to say, but thankfully Bonnie’s voice sounded through the door, calling for him. Finally she was done. Time to work that magic. “I gotta go.” He mumbled and sped off, forgetting he’d had his knee broken juts seconds before.

 

Bonnie and Elijah had spent the last day searching and training for the spell required to bind a witch and a vampire’s powers together. There had been just one problem. Once linked, the spell couldn’t be broken at all and neither of the two would be able to live without the other. That mean Bonnie would basically live forever, but if something _did_ kill her, than Damon would die as well. She wasn’t sure what to think of that so she told Elijah once they had everything ready to leave her alone to think. When she’d heard Damon scream a few minutes earlier, Bonnie had rushed there so fast she had surprised herself, but she had realized one thing. _She_ was ready for this spell. Now she just had to know if he was as well.

When Damon entered their bedroom, he saw the little witch pacing. He frowned, but waited for her to say something. He knew she’d heard him enter, he’d seen her flinch as the door closed behind him.

“I need to tell you something.” She began, tension radiating from her every pore.

“I know I said I’d be fine with whatever, but I’m too young to be a mother.” He joked, but she barely gave a sign of hearing him. It was important. “What is it, Bon?”

“I… This spell is… it’s complicated and…”

“If you can’t do it, then we’ll just –“

“No, it not that. It’s just… Okay, here goes.” She paused and took a deep breath, steadying herself. “If we do this, we’re linked.” She began, opening her eyes, emerald boring into sapphire, urging him to understand. He didn’t.

“Isn’t that the point?”

“Well, yeah, but … This kind of bond, Damon… it’s- It’s forever. If you die, I die kind of thing.”

“Now you’re just not fair, quoting Titanic at me.” He quipped, but he was strting to understand where she was going with this. But the tiny pull at the corner of her mouth just then had been worth it.

“Damon.” She reprimanded, then continued. “If we do this than I live as long as you do and if I get killed, which knowing my luck I could slip in the shower tomorrow and that’s it, then you would die too. Can you… Do you get that? We’d be stuck together.” She explained. He waited until she had calmed herself before he did anything. One thing he did learn from all those month living together as human was to think before he acted. Then, when he saw she was alright, he stepped forward, holding her hands in his and interlocking their finger together. He then  stared into her eyes and waited a few breaths.

“Bonnie Bennett, you idiot. Do you really think I’d want to go on if you ever did die and I would get to survive? I thought you knew me better than that.” He began and he saw as the first tears began rolling down to her chin and he let them fall. He disentangled on hand to cradle her face, his thumb caressing her wet cheek. Then he smiled, a wide, ridiculous smile that had her reciprocating even if she was still crying. “Yes, Bonbon, I’ll marry you. Now where’s my ring.” She burst out laughing, her body lurching forward and her hands wrapping around his neck and pulling him forward as she hugged his taller frame to her shorter one.

“You idiot.” She whispered in his ear and when she pulled back she slapped his shoulder.

“Damnit woman! You keep this up, I’ll be filing for divorce!” He grinned when she laughed again. “So, when are we doing this, cuz I’ve gotta tell you, I’m the type to wait until the wedding night and I know how hard it is to resist _this_.” He gestured at his body and by the time she was through laughing again, the fear had evaporated. She was serious.

“We should do it as soon as we can, Elijah has everything ready downstairs.” She explained and before she could say another word, he bent and kissed her. It wasn’t a deep kiss or overly passionate one, just a soft brush of lips, but it had Bonnie’s heart fluttering in her chest.

“Come on, let’s do this spell.” He whispered and, holding her hand, they made their way down the stairs smiling.

 


	19. Bonds...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie and Damon bond. Truth about Katherine comes out. Rebekah makes an appearence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait... Can't promise it won't happened again, but hopefully this chapter can smooth things over.

The walk down the stairs was tense despite Damon’s tries at disarming the atmosphere with his jokes. Bonnie struggled to remain calm, reassured by his hand in her, by his kisses to her cheek, the top of her head, her knuckles, but there was a churning in the pit of her stomach that she couldn’t renounce, a fear that the spell _would_ go awry and she’d hurt him somehow. She remembered Elijah’s warnings and cautions, to be relaxed when she did the spell, to speak clearly, but the more she tried to do it, the worse her apprehension became. Damon could feel her hand tightening on his, hear her heartbeat, deafeningly loud in his ears, and feel the anxiousness as sweat rolled from her forehead, down her neck, disappearing between her breasts. Damon was tempted to bend down and lick at the trail it left, but he wasn’t sure she wouldn’t set him on fire by reflex.

“Bon Bon, I’m going to be right here, I’ll be fine. You’re a badass witch and I know you can do this. Hell, you nearly killed Klaus after only having just learnt to use your powers!” he whispered as they stopped at the foot of the staircase. He moved his free hand to her chin, tilting her head up so he could see her mesmerizing eyes. The fear reflected there made the color run murky green instead of its usual vibrancy so he kissed her, slowly touching their lips together, his teeth nibbling softly at her plump bottom lip, his tongue soothing the ache and then she gasped, opening her mouth and deepening the kiss, tongue entangled as she mapped the contours of his mouth. When they separated, Caroline was looking at them with a sly grin and a smug expression, no doubt congratulating herself on a job well done. Damon would have glared, but he was still a little overwhelmed and Bonnie’s panting didn’t help when her chest rose and fell rapidly before his eyes. He really would have liked to be able to just sweep her off her feet, swing her over his shoulder and take her back upstairs to their bedroom. He couldn’t.

“Stop pouting and come on!” Blondie’s voice grating in his ears shattered all romance, Bonnie giggling into his neck though reassured him enough to not start a fight. At least she wasn’t so worried now.

“Hold you extensions, Barbie! We’re coming.” He told her, then beneath his breath. Softer so only Bonnie could hear, he muttered _“I wish, we were”,_ in a deeper voice. Bonnie blushed, hit his shoulder playfully and dragged him by the hand she was still holding. “Play nice” she hissed as they trailed behind Caroline. He smiled and pecked her on the lips, nodding, one hand help up in surrender.

Caroline gave him the stink eye, hitting his shin with the toes of her left foot, smiling satisfied when he yelped and jumped away. He glared, his blue eyes darker in the barely lit hallway. Bonnie had gone on ahead, needing to read the spell a couple more times before she could truly be confident enough to use it.

"Was that _really_ necessary?" The blonde vampire scoffed at Damon's question, eyes sparkling in amusement. He tried glaring at her for a few minutes longer, but the moment his eyes met hers he burst out laughing.

"Feeling better?" Asked Caroline once the man regained his composure. Sure, she'd heard that Bon was the one more worried, but she knew the man as well as she did her childhood friend. He was terrified for her and thus more scared than ever before. Damon was, in part, very similar to herself in that he valued his loved ones more than his own wellbeing. And so Caroline knew how much Bonnie's unrest was affecting him now.

At her voice Damon turns around, closes his eyes and breathes deeply. It hurts his head, knowing all that he does, knowing how weak he's been thus far, how scared his lover is, how important this bond is for all of them. He sighs before looking back at his friend.

"Yeah … I am actually" he whispers, his hands shaking as he draws them into fists. With a loud, happy squeak, more related to a chipmunk than an adult woman, the blond rushes to him, arms wide and tight as they close around his midsection. A loud exhale escapes him at the sheer force of it, but a soft smile graces his face. He has been lying in all fairness just now, but it all evaporated with her hug. He forgets sometimes why he cares for the blonde vampire as much as he does nowadays, it's moments like this that remind him. She has become his strength in many ways and he hers. It is a beautiful symbiotic relation that eludes his understanding but not his gratefulness. He owes her too much for that, lost too many people because of it.

"Damon? I think we're ready." Bonnie's soft voice is what breaks the hug and reminds the older man why he can't be making love to his gorgeous girlfriend at the moment. Another smile lifts the corners of his mouth.

"Let's do this shit!" He exclaims, taking her hand in his once more to drag her back inside. As he enters, he stops, mouth slightly agape.

There are candles. _Everywhere_.

There are black candles crackling around the heptagram on the floor, one in each seven corners, there are pure white ones on the high shelves, so bright their flame is white as well, two red ones inside the drawing on the floor. The room is inundated in the warm glow of their flames, shadows deep on the walls. There is very little coming to his mind as he watches the cauldron bubbling on the small coffee table next to the heptagram and even less as the smell of both flowers and blood fills his senses.

“What did you even throw in there?” Damon asked, scrunching up his nose, the flowery scent irritating and the blood inviting. Bonnie looked back at him, her eyes twinkling in amusement as she shrugged. Damon glared at her before closing his eyes and attempting to recognize any of the ingredients. He breathed in deeply and detected jasmine and a bit of aloe maybe, but the rest of it was lost on him. He’d never been that drawn to flowers. The blood on the other hand he recognized. It was a mixture of deer, mountain lion, wolf and owl.

“Ugh, that stinks!” complained Caroline behind him. He was forced to stop his nod as Bonnie took a knife and cut carefully across her palm. He watched transfixed as the blood dripped into the concoction, drop by delicious drop. When she finally closed her fist around a strip of material, Damon’s eyes were wide in disbelief. Then the witch held out the same knife to him.

“You need to add you blood into it too.” Her voice was soft, her eyes warm and the smile she’d sent his way filled with love. Damon took the blade and slashed across his palm, deep so as to allow some drops to fall before it healed.

“Now what?”

“Now… we need to begin. Everyone else, please wait outside.” She answered his question. He heard Caroline grumbling before Klaus shushed her, he watched the disappointed look on Stefan’s face emerge and he nodded back at Elijah when the Original stepped out.

“What do you need me to do?” he shuffled on his feet, unsure of himself. Sure, he’d spent a lot of time with witches, he’d always been drawn to them, but this kind of magic was beyond him. he watched bonnie in the candle light, the way the flames played on her bronze skin, dancing almost in the dips and curves of her flesh. He gazed at her lips, lopsided and full, darker in this light, more enticing than ever before, her neck elongated by the shadows cast over it, her eyes shining. This wasn’t a girl, this wasn’t even a woman, he realized in that moment. Bonnie was a goddess, from her darkness of her hair to the emerald of her eyes, from the tip of her toes to the top of her head, the swell of her breasts, the strength of her thighs, the tenseness of her fingers, the harshness of her breath. He was enraptured. In that one moment, standing in his spot in the heptagram, a bloody red candle at his feet, mirrored by the one in front of him, before the witch, he was the closest to heaven he’d ever been.

“ _Bonnie_ …” it was a mere whisper from his lips, but in the silence of the room, it was too loud. Her eyes rose and fixated on his and his breath was stolen. There was a fierce determination and overwhelming love reflected there, but there was also immeasurable power. When she smiled and began reciting the spell, he shivered, her words washing over him in waves.

The spell began easily enough, with words softly uttered and candles shifting in the wind, then Bonnie took a bowl into her hands, filled with whatever she had added into the still heated cauldron behind her. she dipped a hand into it, painting her fingers with it, then rose them to his lips, up to his cheeks and along his forehead. When she gave him the bowl, never once stopping the incantation, he knew what to do and so he dipped his own fingers and brushed them tenderly over her lips, over the valley of her cheeks and across her forehead. It was oddly intimate in a way, vulnerable. His hands were shaking when they returned to his sides.

Warmth came next, starting from his toes and slowly making its way up. From Bonnie’s minute flinch, she hadn’t expected it either, but never did she stutter, not once. The warmth spread up, until it grew scotching in their chests, gripping their hearts in a tight hold, pulling and twisting. Damon had to close his eyes, the feeling overwhelming and surprising. It did not hurt, but too much somehow. And suddenly it was travelling again. Damon opened his eyes if only to see if he could map the spell’s trajectory on Bonnie’s skin, certain he would be able to watch the heat shining beneath the skin. He couldn’t, but his lips were tingling and the urge to follow the heat trail with his lips to her skin nearly knock the wind out of his lungs. He was pretty sure he’d stopped breathing ages ago. The last repetition of the incantation was the worst, the fire in their veins once more converging on their hearts, pulling and twisting and merging. Bonnie’s voice had not risen in pitch, but instead it lowered constantly that the final word she uttered was so soft that, had Damon not been a vampire, he would have missed it entirely. The warmth faded, disappeared, and they breathed once before it returned, slamming into them so forcefully, bonnie gripped Damon’s shoulder to keep herself steady, he in turn clung to her waist just as tightly.

“It’s done.” Bonnie whispered, her hand relaxing on his shoulder, then slowly lowering, caressing the length of his arm, pulling so that one of his hands falls back to his side from her waist, lacing their fingers gently. His thumb taps onto her hand as they stand, his eyes gazing into her own as a smile lifts the corners of his mouth. The smile is mirrored by Bonnie soon after. Without any warning, she rushes forward, pulling at his hand, the fingers of her other hand tangling themselves into his soft hair, her lips pressing onto his. There is passion and desperation for a few moments, then, she slows the pace and deepens the kiss.

“I … I’ve been wanting to do that since this morning.” She chuckles, her grin messing the kiss until there are more teeth than lips and more laughter than moans. She finds that she enjoys it that much more when he lets out a loud guffaw that fades into a blinding grin.

* * *

 

"Elena?" Came Elijah's voice startling her. He was standing in the doorway, his back straight as always, his suit immaculate, his voice serious. Elena rose, sitting up on the bed, her head swarming. The dizziness should have scared her, but somehow she was entirely calm. At least the dizziness was not given due to Katherine.

"Yes? What is it Elijah? Is Bonnie finished?" Her voice struck him deeply in his chest, hurting his heart. He could not help imagining long curls and a devilish smile in place of doe eyes and straight locks of hair. He knew what Katherine had done, he knew what she was, but love took no orders and he had once loved her.

"What do you know of Katherine?" He asked. He didn't need to know of her death, he did need to understand her. Understand her heart, for he was certain she had had one.

"I… what do you mean?" Confusion in her eyes, but a deep concern as well, for herself this time.

"Who did Katerina care for?"

"How should I… I don't know." Her voice angry, her eyes fiery, her hands tightening in the sheets. She truly was of the Petrova fire. He could recognize Katherine's mannerisms in Elena now, see Katherine's mother in Elena's glare, Katherine's sister in the soft scrunch of her nose, Tatia in the way she swallowed nervously before struggling to answer. His heart beat painfully in his chest, love long ago lost tugging.

"I've been told you could feel what Katerina felt. You must have learned something." He argued, tone warm as if afraid of jostling her. Elena nodded, biting her lip - as Tatia's child had done in its toddler years - and closing her eyes. Deep in thought, Elijah wondered if she was just humouring him to get rid of him. He was thinking this when her gasp resounded in the bedroom.

"I _do_ know." She admitted reluctantly, twisting her lip with her fingers, something he didn't recognize, something entirely Elena. "She had been running to Damon. She had been on her way there before she was … targeted? Is that what happened?" She wasn't even aware of her words anymore, the Original vampire realized so he kept quiet. "She had wanted… wanted to… why can't I … I _don't_ … she's been keeping it so hidden, so secret, I can't say what it…" her voice trailed off, brow furrowing in deep concentration. "She was…" suddenly Elena yelped, her hands grabbing at her heart, a sob bursting free from her lips, tears gathering. When her eyes met his, he was shocked to see the utter heartache in them. "She loved him _so_ much." She sniffed, shaking her head, trying to piece the words together. "She was so _guilty_ , she hated what she had done so much. She hoped for a second chance without me there." She continued, the sobs growing softer and hiccups beginning to affect her speech. "She had lied so much, she nearly convinced _herself_ she truly fell for Stefan, but she was lying. _She was lying!"_ An idea began forming in Elijah's mind. He wasn't sure how he could have possibly overlooked it before. It made sense really, he knew Katherine's story, knew shed been abandoned by her lover at the first struggled, knew she had wanted a live that would last forever. He had realized further over the years, realized that she could never allow that love to exist, would never allow anyone to be dragged into her runs. 

"Who? Who did she love, Elena?" He forced the question out, the thought of Katherine's fate too dark, the hopelessness of it too suffocating for even him, too much guilt in his being if what he'd thought was the truth.

* * *

 

"Does she _ever_ stop singing?!" Yelled Rebekah, struggling to escape her bonds. The man what n front of her shrugged, clearly bored and unimpressed with the situation. Her mother had not showed her face at all since those first few seconds the moment she woke up in this cemetery.

"Is it bothering you?" His voice was grating, too low pitched that it sounded raspy, every word in an affected tone that made her want to tear out her own eardrums. His face was better at least. He appeared to be in his early forties, soft crow's feet gathering at the corner of his eyes, lines on hus forehead, grey hairs around his temples. He was quite attractive actually. If only he wasn't a psychopath working with her mother and a crazy bitch-witch. She refused to answer his question, instead hutting the ground hard with her foot, a hole forming. It wouldn't allow her to escape, there was a spell keeping her in the drawing on the floor, but it released some if her anger.

"What's her name?" She didn't really care to be honest, but at least she could curse someone if she knew. The man tilted his head to the sky, a smile painted on his lips, a large, terrifying one that sent shivers up and down Rebekah's spine. Then he burst out laughing, a manic sound that reverberated throughout the night, echoing in the horizon. His body was shaking under the force of it.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" The bitch returned, her smile as annoying as ever, as whimsical and deranged as always. She was swaying to an unknown rhythm, one only she could hear. Her long dress fluttering in the breeze, her arms wrapped around her middle as if embracing. She was humming something again.

"Will you tell me then?" It was a long shot, but Rebekah was willing to take it. Surprise rose in the witch's eyes, but a hate filled glare smothered it soon enough.

" _Sure_." The man's laughter renewed at this response. Shivers caused goosebumps to appear on Rebekah's skin, apprehension filling her mind. Perhaps she has been wrong.

"Natalie Moureaux." She whispered and Rebekah realized with a stuttering breath that she knew exactly why this woman was willing to work with the prick behind her and her psychotic mother. She didn't know a Natalie Moreaux, but she knew a Jean Moureaux. He had had no relatives, no blood kin, when Nik had killed him in front of the man's lover. She hadn't been there, but Kol had told the story in detail. That is why she hadn't recognized the witch, but also why the ritual was so familiar. Jean Moureaux had had a special brand of spells, the mind that Nik at the time feared. He had killed the man in a paranoid state. The woman in front of her must be the lover, seeking revenge. If she was half as good as her lover, than Nik will need all the help he can get. And Rebekah prayed that he wouldn't be too late.

The mumbling increased in volume, once again words emerging from her lips, a snake slithering around her waist as the song became a spell and Rebekah felt her whole body filling with pain

She felt as though something was attempting to remove her heart from her cheat, slowly and with a blunt knife. She felt as though fire was licking at her feet, rising ever higher. She tasted vervain in her mouth, smelt ashes. Her blood turned to poison as she stood, a scream tore out of her as if with a hot iron. Her throat ached, her lungs filled with liquid, her heart broke. Pain overwhelmed her entirely, completely and there was nothing she could have done to stop the sensations from spreading through her.

* * *

 

"It was Damon, Elijah. She loved _Damon_." Elena's words were met with a loud bang as the door to her room slammed open, revealing a fuming Damon Salvatore. Elijah swiftly moved out of the way and then exited the room, intent on discussing with Klaus what would happen the next day. Damon entered and closed the door behind him. Struggling to control his anger as to not let it overcome Bonnie now that they were bonded, he sat at the door of Elena's bed. Her eyes were filled with fear and regret, but there was nothing that would remotely suggest she had been lying.

"What are you talking about? Katherine had made it _very clear_ how she felt." His words were carefully chosen, slowly uttered as he tried to understand what was it that Elena was trying to do. He knew what Katherine …

"She was _lying_. I saw that memory, Damon, when she told you it was Stefan she loved. She _had_ lied." Despite the soft stutter of her voice, her words were clear and powerful. She wasn't trying to deceive him. "She lied to save herself, at first, then to save you. She knew Klaus would revel in the opportunity to break her. She knew that if he found anyone she cared about, much less loved, she would break. She left to protect you and Stefan in 1864." Elena explained, but watching her brought everything Katherine did to hurt him stand out.

"Katherine has never cared for anyone but herself." It was a weak defense, he knew, and yet it was the only one he had.

"She did, for a long time. But don't you see Damon? You are exactly what she's been wishing for and fearing at the same time. She has been _hoping_ for a love eternal ever since she was human, but the man she had been in love with abandoned her and _their child._ Then she lost her child, the _one_ thing she'd had left, and was sent to Klaus. Of course she did what she did. I can't even _believe_ I'm defending her to you. This is insane, but I can literally _feel_ how strong her love was for you, how terrifying. I can tell you, _detail by detail_ , how much she hated that night. How much she _hurt_ , having to say that to you. She didn't cry, but if she hadn't left when she did, if you had tried to stop her… she _would_ have _._ _She would have forgotten all those 500 years running, she would have forgotten everything horrible she'd been through and you could have stated over_."

Damon was shaking, his whole body trembling as he fought the onslaught of feelings he had never even prepared himself for. It was too much. He didn't know how to do this, how to go on from a truth like this. Katherine had loved him. How does he even begin to comprehend that? How was he supposed to react? He had loved her, but now … now Bonnie was there, and he loved her so much, it scared him. If he ever lost her he would lose his mind. If he ever got her hurt, he'd be willing to jump straight into the pit of hell, he'd-

Oh _._ _Oh_. _Oh_! 

Damn it! How did Katherine even _do_ this?! How did she affect him so even after death?! What _was_ it about her?! But, _God_ , now he understood. Katherine and him were really more alike than he liked to admit, because suddenly he _knew_ he would have done the same had he been the one being chased and Bonnie the one potentially getting hurt if he took her with him.

 _Fuck_! Fuck, Katherine! _You win_...

 


	20. Family reunion and ... what is this about love?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Original family reunites and Bonnie and Damon have a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it's taken me this long. I won't promise it will be faster updated, but I will tell you we're nearing the end. Next chapter will be the begging of the end. Hope you enjoy this one.

"Do you have to go?" Her voice is strong, a storm brewing under her apparent calm demeanour. "What have they ever done for you?" She continues having barely taken a breath. "You promised you'd stay with me this time …" eyes filled up with tears. "I don't want to lose you again, Finn. And this will be dangerous, we know this!" The tears fell as her face burrowed into his chest, her hands fisting into his shirt. "Please …" she whispered softly, defeated. She knew what his decision would be already.

Finn listened, his expression full of warmth and understanding and regret, but he was also guilty. He knew he had to leave. He might not have always gotten along with his family, he might have fought with them often, but they _were_ his family still and they needed his help now. He had not been there before when they were in need, but he wouldn't abandon them _this_ time, not when it was their sister in danger, not when it was _everything_ on the precipice of disaster.

“Sage… my love, you know I _must_ do this. It is Rebekah, I owe her for finding you and bringing us together.” And it was true, the redheaded woman was aware, for it had been the blonde who had found her and brought her along. Sage remembered in Technicolor every moment of Finn and her reunion, from the annoyance of having been roped into joining the other woman, to the fear she felt as she saw Klaus to the breathlessness she’d felt when her eyes saw him, to the love that threatened to overwhelm her as they embraced and then kissed. She … _they_ owed Rebekah, so she sighed and, extricating herself from his arms, she bent to take the large suitcase from the floor, opening it on the bed and taking his clothes one by one, neatly folded, inside. Finn smiled, a barely there little lift of the corners of his mouth, so fast she thought she’d imagined it, and moved to the closet to take out some pairs of shoes.

“Remember to drink enough blood. Finn! Listen to me! Remember that!” Sage took hold of his arm, turning his to face her, her voice unforgiving. She had spent the past year making sure he didn’t desiccate himself. And she still wasn’t certain he didn’t have a death wish. She’d tried to speak to him about how he could live without compromising himself, that blood bags were a solution or even animals. It had seemed to work, but she could never be sure about this. About the deep self hatred he carried throughout the centuries for over a millennium.

It hurt still to think about it, about the time she overlooked the signs and nearly lost him. They’d just moved in together, just began reconnecting, just began remembering how it was, what their love felt like. Then one day, when she came back from feeding, she found the house empty. It was just before sunrise, she’d expected him to be sleeping. But he wasn’t. He was outside, standing in the middle of their backyard, looking toward the sunrise. She thought it was some kind of wanting peace and quiet, but when the first rays hit, she saw his face burning slowly and acted. She’d almost been too late then because he had refused to move at all and she had had to drape herself completely over him to shield him. then she knock the feet from under him and dragged him using the momentum inside. He was weak from being burnt and not having eaten in about a week so she managed to subdue him enough to talk about it, about why he wanted so badly to die. In the end, Finn was fine and she had regained the love of her life. But it had been a close call and she didn’t want him to revert to that after going to see his siblings. If she could, she’d go with him, but she had a prior engagement. God, how she wished she could cancel or just not go at all.

“I love you.” She whispered against his lips, straining through the window of the cab.

“I love you as well” he answered, kissing her fully on the lips. With a smile, she watched the cab go down the street as she waved. The tears fell only when it disappeared entirely from view.

 

* * *

 

Damon watched as Elena silently slipped away, moving around him as she exited the room, a sad look on her face, a wet gaze and an outstretched hand reaching as if to comfort, but she leaves quietly, without looking back. He watches as the door closes with a soft thud and steps more inside. He gazes at each wall in turn, his eyes staring intently, noticing every shade, every gap, every crack, every stain until they hurt. There is a wetness to them that baffles him as he continues the mantra of _she’s wrong, Katherine loved Stefan, it was always Stefan, she’s lying._ But why would she lie now? Why, when Katherine has been dead for over an year? He was so trapped in his own insecurity and confusion that the door opening and Bonnie entering went without notice. It wasn’t his name in her voice that drew him back, it wasn’t her eyes seeking his gaze that reminded him where he was, it wasn’t even the touch of her hand on his wrist. No, it was the small droplet of water falling down her cheek. As it rolled down the smooth brown skin, his knees softened, his hands shook, his eyes closed and he fell at her feel. At last, her voice registered in his mind and her touch warmed his skin. God, he’d been so cold. So very _cold_.

“Damon? Can you hear me now? How can I help? Damon, please, talk with me!” he had to draw all the power he possessed to be able to lift his head, but it was the easiest thing he’d ever had to do when his hand caressed her cheek, when his lips melded with hers. The shuddering breath that escaped them both released the remaining tension from his bones and a smile appeared. Their foreheads rested on each other as their eyes slowly opened once more. His smile widened when he saw her mirroring one and he didn’t even try to resist peppering her face with kisses.

“Damon!” she admonished giggling, a small worry frown on her face once he turned serious once more. “Damon?”

“Hey, Bon Bon.” He whispered, the nickname almost reverent. “Sorry… was a bit out of it there, didn’t mean to scare you.” He continued just as softly, one of his hands searching hers and interlacing their fingers and the other rose to her cheek, thumb grazing her lower lip. He closed his eyes minutely and when he opened them, he seemed to radiate a new kind of determination and strength.

“What happened? I only heard a bit from Elena. Something about Katherine?” she asked, rising to her knees and then to her full height, pulling him up as well.

“She loved me.” He said with a small smile. “And that means I didn’t die for nothing, that I didn’t waste a century and a half for nothing. It meant something. But even if she were alive now, it would be too late.” Bonnie looked confused and sad. Sad that it took death for Katherine to give him even this little thing. Love wasn’t supposed to be this complicated, painful perhaps. “I love you.” He said and her breath rushed out suddenly into a laugh. She knew that already. They knew this.

“I love you too.” She kissed his lips and was about to ask if he was okay now, if maybe learning about Katherine’s feelings changed anything, but she never got the chance.

“I’m sorry for Esther… she doesn’t know who she’s been messing with. I don’t do well with people hurting those who I love and she _hurt_ you, Bon. We’ll make her pay. And she hurt Caroline so badly I’ll make her beg.” There was no violence in his words, there was no hate, there was only a chilling certainty, a decision he was sure to uphold. Bonnie allowed her smile to shift to dangerous.

“We’ll all make her pay.” She had not moved one muscle, but suddenly they were surrounded by fire, swirling around them protectively, forming a shell to hide inside. Damon shivered, the raw power his lover had just displayed igniting an inferno in his very soul. He adored this woman.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love you, Bonnie Bennett, but I swear to you this. Regardless of when we are, who we are to each other, I will always try to make you happy. If you figure out, some time down the line, that I’m not the one for you, I’ll back off. If you decide you want me forever, I’ll be there.” She could see he meant every word of this, but there was a worry there as well. Because once more he was putting himself second. That needed to change and _she_ would the one to make the first step toward that change.

“And I’ll always want you to be happy, no matter the form that happiness takes. Never choose someone else before your own happiness Damon. If you promise this, promise that no matter how much you may think you’re hurting someone else by making a choice that gives _you_ happiness, that you’ll make it, then _I_ will be happy too. You’ve spent too long putting others before yourself.” There was confusion in his eyes and she knew the second his lips parted that he was going to deny the very idea of what she was saying. But if they were going to work, they both needed to realize this, realize that sacrificing one’s self was great in theory, but in practice, it sucked. She would know, she’d done the martyr thing before.

“I’m the selfish one, Bon. You know that.” He chuckled, but the sound hurt her ears, it was an ache in the chime of his laugher.

“No, you just let people’s lowest expectations of you guide who you are. Who I’ve begun to understand is a very kind, very funny, very protective person. I’ve seen you dancing on horrible pop music while making me those awful pancakes in the morning. And I’ve seen you dressed like the worst cliché housewife while cleaning my house, singing in the vacuum cleaner and wiggling your hips while dusting. I’ve seen you be this goofy, adorable asshole. And  I’ve seen you taking a book and retreating upstairs. I found you curled on my bed, window open, a look of complete calm on your face, reading. I’ve seen you taking Care up in your arms so gently and putting her in bed when she ended up falling asleep in various  odd places throughout winter. I’ve seen you and Klaus arguing about which decade was the worst and the best, debating history. And I’ve seen you cooking a three course meal from heaven for Liz’s birthday _._ You are more human than you know and I love every single piece of you, every side, good and bad.”

When she finished, there was a deep silence, a silence she expected him to try and fill soon enough with rebuttals. She was proven wrong. He didn’t fill the silence, he didn’t even try to argue with her about what she had said. He just looked at her, smiled and softly kissed her.

“I know. I didn’t for the longest time, but I know now. Bon, it’s mostly thanks to you that I even realized any of it. Thanks to you and your uncanny, annoying way of never making excuses, never treating me like anything other than _me_.”

“Are you two done?” came an amused voice from behind the witch. Klaus was leaning against the doorway, a shit-eating grin on his lips. Damon groaned and let his forehead fall to the woman’s shoulder. Bonnie cradled his head, the fingers of her right hand running through the soft strands, giggling. “Because as I do remember, we have a witch to defeat.”

He was smirking in their direction when Damon’s eyes met his and there was a mutual understanding there, one that said they’d tear apart whoever was dumb enough to mess with them. There was fire and blood in that gaze.

The door opened with a bang downstairs and Kol’s voice rang with an “I’m home, honey!” followed by a yelp as, no doubt, either Finn or Elijah smacked him. Klaus then heard the sound of fast approaching heels and a ruckus laughter from both his little brother and his lover. Finn exchanged pleasantries with Elijah and Stefan. Klaus smiled widely, realizing they still had a chance to save Rebekah and defeat their mother. They could win this. They would win this.

“Let’s join the reunion downstairs, what do you say, _Nik?_ ” spoke the older Salvatore, with one hand entwined with the Bennett witch’s and the other gripping his wrist and dragging him along. Klaus turned to Bonnie. Her eyes were warm and determined. Her eyes held the promise of success and of family. He had a family again. Klaus was ready now.


End file.
